Sacred Heart Church was built to serve the Polish community in New Britain, CT. A life size statue of Polish born Pope and Saint John Paul II is located outside the northwest side of the church.
A life-size granite statue of Pope John Paul II depicts the Pope standing on a square granite plinth set on a cubic 3' high block granite base. He is wearing Papal robes and a zucchetto, an ecclesiastical skullcap. He has his hands raised as if giving a blessing.
The granite plinth inscribed in Polish: PAPIEZ JAN PAWEL II
Pope John Paul II was born Karol Józef Wojtyla on May 18. 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. He was secretly educated in a seminary in Kraków during World War II and was ordained as a priest on November 1, 1946. He then studied in Rome obtained a doctorate in theology in 1948. He was appointed Bishop of Ombi, by Pope Pius XII, in 1958, archbishop of Krakow in 1964, and was made a cardinal, by Pope Paul VI, in 1967.
He was secretly educated in a seminary in Kraków during World War II and was ordained as a priest on November 1, 1946. He then studied in Rome obtained a doctorate in theology in 1948. He was appointed Bishop of Ombi, by Pope Pius XII, in 1958, archbishop of Krakow in 1964, and was made a cardinal, by Pope Paul VI, in 1967.
After the sudden death of Pope John Paul I, on September 28, 1978 after only 33 days in office, Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyla was elected Pope by the conclave of Cardinals , as a compromise candidate, on the eighth ballot. He took the name of two of his predecessor John Paul II. He was the 264th pope according to reckoning of the Catholic Church and the first non-Italian in 455 years to be elected Pope.
As Pope, John Paul II was politically active and a strong advocate for human rights. Being highly regarded in Poland, he used his influence to hasten the fall of communism in Poland. He opposed the apartheid policy of south Africa and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
John Paul II died in Vatican City on April 2, 2005. On July 5, 2013, the Roman Catholic Church announced that John Paul II would, within 16 months, be canonized as a saint.