Hello, I have heard from several people including my Priest that the Holy Father's mother was Greek Catholic {Uniate}. Is this true and if so can anybody give me more facts please.

-- Joseph Sefchik (pxr5@abts.net), October 18, 1999

Answers

I am writing this anonymously because of the harsh wordings I shall use: If the pope's mother is greek catholic I think he is bunk! He should not be in such a position with a greek catholic anscestory. That is intolerable!!!

-- anonymous (tmesg@hotmail.com), October 20, 1999.

We have in or towna lady Jana who is the Pope's niece. She has never spoken of anything along this thought line.

-- jean bouchard (jeanb@cwk.imag.net), October 21, 1999.

I don't have any information on this but it would explain the Holy Father's passion for reunion between East and West.

Oh, and Mr. Anonymous, quite a number of Greek Catholics have been Popes. What's the problem?

-- David Palm (djpalm64@yahoo.com), October 21, 1999.

David - Very fine observation re: Greek Eastern Rite. Hopefully this type of ignorance will dissolve as we read more and learn of our history. Just finished readng Robert Graves - I Claudius - 10BC - 80?AD. A superb read.

Have you or others suggestions on some like period works please? History books are like Natchos. Can't just eat one only.

-- jean bouchard (jeanb@cwk.imag.net), October 23, 1999.

First of all, Pope John Paull II is from Poland. Many Roman Catholic Poles were baptized in Greek Catholic Churches for many reasons including availability of Churches. Regardless of the reason or rite, there is no difference between a Greek Catholic or Roman Catholic other than tradition. History teaches us that the Pope in Rome (because the Orthodox Patriarch or Antioch was also called Pope)is the chief administrative Bishop in Rome, thus the Roman Catholics' allegiance to him, but also the Spiritual Head of the entire Church. So the Pope should as a mission (every Pope should)try to unite Christianity. That is why Roman Catholics are direclty affected by the Pope's decisions and that is why the Greek catholics are not bound to erything he says!

-- Henry Saporski (heniu@email.com), June 29, 2001.

If his mother is Greek Catholic why should it matter and for the people that are putting the pope down are you trying to bring yourself up because it shouldn't matter what your mom or dad is it matters if you know God with you whole heart would you be able to put the pope down in front of God saying he souldn't be pope because of his mom she's Greek Catholic it doesn't matter he knows God that is what really matters

-- Bianca B. 14 (Bbraider88@aol.com), December 14, 2002.

I agree with most of what everyone here has written, but it seems that the original question has gotten lost. Pope John Paul II's mother, Emilia Kaczorowska Wojtyla, was of Lithuanian descent, which means that she could have been an Eastern Rite Catholic. However, the sources I've checked only say that she was a devout Catholic - pretty non-descript regarding the question of whether she was Eastern or Western Rite.

Nevertheless, her ancestry has nothing to do with Karol Wojtyla's qualifications for being Pope. Hypothetically, she could have been Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu or atheist, and it would not matter one jot.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the person who objected to the pope's suggested but unproven Greek lineage is someone who doesn't like him to begin with. This is fairly evident due to the fact that their response was so harsh. One does not develop such an immediate and passionate hatred for the pope at the mere whiff of the suggestion made by the original questioner over his ancestry. "Anonymous" is most likely either an ultra-conservative Catholic who does not realize that Eastern Rite Catholics are just as Catholic as Western (Latin) Rite Catholics, or he/she is a Greek Orthodox Christian who has strong feelings about losing one of their own to the Church of Rome.

-- catholic-seminarian (roman72m@juno.com), December 14, 2002.

I forgot to mention something. This is just in the way of some friendly advise. Eastern Rite Catholics don't usually like to be referred to as "uniates". It suggests that they are somehow "lesser" churches that find their dignity only through their union with Rome, rather than through their Apostolic origins, which places them on an equal basis with the Church of Rome. I know that this is not what most people are suggesting when they use the word "uniate", but that is what many Eastern Rite Catholics understand when they hear the word. The preferred nomenclature, I believe,is "Eastern Rite Catholic" or "Greek Catholic", "Syriac Catholic", "Coptic Catholic", etc.

-- catholic-seminarian (roman72m@juno.com), December 14, 2002.

Jmj

Thank you, "catholic seminarian."

I just wanted to let you know that there is now a movement to get away from referring to people as being of the "Latin Rite" or the "Byzantine Rite," etc.. Apparently it was recognized by the Vatican that this is imprecise language. Now we are asked to refer to the "Latin (or Western) Church," people of the "Melkite Church," etc.. The word "rite," then, will be used in its precise way -- e.g., when we say that each of these Churches celebrates its own proper liturgical "Rites."

The old habit will die hard, but the Church really wants us to do this.

God bless you.
John
PS: I agree with what you said about "uniates."

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), December 15, 2002.

Some people are makeing this such a large subject when all he's doing is good. His mother may be a Greek Catholic but why should it matter she's probbally another good person who rasied her son to be what he is today.

-- (abielewicz@hotmail.com), January 06, 2003.

I am to ascertain that whether Pope's mother is of Greek origin or not I would like to tell That,,, Lord has selected him to gain this authority and no one can deny this to him ,,,,you remember that Jesus took into samarians and other cast people into his sermons Therefore this question must have not risen ........................................ Arul Rajan

-- A Arul Rajan (hello_arul@hotmail.com), January 12, 2003.

I cannot believe that it bothers people if the Pope's mother was a Greek Catholic.

This very holy man, our Pope, resembles Jesus so much in his actions and deeds. He does not waiver on what he thinks is right, no matter how unpopular the world views it. He travels all over the world!! He loves young people, he is constantly striving for peace....God chose him, not the people.

Mothers deserve much credit for the character of ther children....God bless the Pope and I am sure his mother was a very good, holy woman, a very special woman. The mother's of priests must be looked at in a very special way by God and Our Lady. It takes a special women to produce a son who becomes a priest - a priest who became Pope!!

MaryLu

-- MaryLu (mlc327@juno.com), January 12, 2003.

Just a bit of information about Greek Catholics.

Enjoy,

Mateo

-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), January 13, 2003.

Isn't her surname Kaczorowska a name of Jewish descent? Old jewish family converted to catholicism, mayhap?

-- SammyP (grimjack_28@yahoo.com), September 24, 2003.

Sammy,
I can find no sign that Kaczorowska is "a name of Jewish descent."

It is the feminine form of the surname Kaczorowski (which her father would have had). Internet searches on both forms yield no linkage to Judaism (except for one "Benjamin"), and the searches yield very many Christian names preceding the surname Kaczorowska/i.
JFG

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 25, 2003.

I really think that people have misinterpreted the question, I really beleive that the enquirer was doing just that, I don't beleive that he was trying to put the Pope down. Anyhow I don't really think that it matters what the Popes mother was or for that matter his father, each one of us is a separate entity, the fact that his mother produced a Pope must mean something. Any parent who produces a priest(and I am one)must be very blessed so you can imagine a parent producing a Pope. Please pray for our holy father who is very ill, he has done so much for the world, more than any other Pope in our memory.

Peace be with you Joseph

-- Joseph Podesta (josephpodesta656@hotmail.com), October 01, 2003.

Dose any one have the Popes Family tree? Because if I remember correctly the Popes mother is not polish. I once new a priest who’s aunt was the Popes mother. And he was from the Ukraine and was ordained in the Byzantine rite which is close to the Greek Church.

SS

-- Steven Schneider (steven@schneider.net), October 03, 2003.

Steven,
There is no doubt that the pope's mother was born in Poland -- in Krakow, to be specific, where her father (Feliks Kaczorowski) was an upholsterer. According to one biographer, this area of Poland was called Galicia, and may have then been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The pope's mother's more distant ethnic roots have yet to be made clear.

In an earlier message on this thread, someone wrote:
"Pope John Paul II's mother, Emilia Kaczorowska Wojtyla, was of Lithuanian descent, which means that she could have been an Eastern Rite Catholic." [I believe that CNN has also reported this "Lithuanian" connection.]

As you may know, borders have shifted back and forth in central Europe in recent centuries, often due to post-war settlements. A part of Lithuania was/is once in Poland and vice versa. I have elsewhere heard that the pope's mother was at least part Slovak. You have heard Ukrainian. Part of Ukraine once became part of Slovakia. So this is all still an uncertain situation.

God bless you.


-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), October 04, 2003.

here, i believe i can settle this with an adequately authoritative source which everyone should recognize as being at least authentic in this point...

"On tuesday, May 18, 1920, Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born in wadowice... His father, also Krol, was a tailor and a military man, his mother, emilia, an intelligent woman with a CONVENT education." - --from the Pope John Paul II, a tribute, written by LIFE.

i think its pretty safe to say that if she had an RC convent education, that she was not raised a greek or eastern catholic.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), October 04, 2003.

Thank you J. F.

I did make some calls and I found out that the mother to the priest I knew was from Poland and his Father was from the Ukraine. I am still trying to find what her madden name was because someone is trying to tell me that this man and his family were/are feeding me a line.

-- Steven S (Steven@schneider.net), October 05, 2003.

Hello

I was trying to find an email address for His Holiness when I came upon this site.

First a confession - I am Hellenic (Greek) Orthodox, and I teach in an exceptional catholic College where I have learned a great deal.

As to the question of His Holiness' ancestry, I do not care. I could refer to the very rock on which the entire Christian Church was built and he was Hellenic. I could refer to the great strides to unify Christian churches under His Holiness John Paul II

But what is truly important is his leadership, his caring for others, his message and his real love for people. Who cares if his mother was Hellenic, Lithuanian or a Al Jolson fan. We should respect who he is and not who his family may or may not have been.

(Mr) Ange Kenos Victoria, Australia

-- Ange Kenos (Mr.) (atkenos@excite.com), October 19, 2003.

I thank GOD for giving us this beautiful gift of POPE JOHN PAUL II.He has been a Father looking after us. What does it matter if his mother is a greek. All this beautiful mother has given us, is a wonderful peace lover of mankind. When we ask this sort of question are we saying we know better than GOD?

-- Ethel Mary Celine Rathual (l1u2k3e4@singnet.com.sg), November 07, 2003.

Ethel, the question was not meant as an insult. It was harmless. JFG

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), November 08, 2003.

Emilia Kaczorowska was b. 26 MAR 1884 in Krakow; the 5th of 13 children to Maria Anna Scholz (1853-1897 -- daughter of Zuzanna Rybicka & Jan Scholz) & Feliks Kaczorowski (1849-1908 -- son of Urszula Malinowska & Mikolaj Kaczorowski). Convent educated, she married Karol Joseph Wojtyla, b. 18 JUL 1879 (in Lipnik, near Bielsko Biala, Poland) in 1906; the same year as her firstborn son, Edmund, on 27 AUG 1906. In 1914, her daughter Olga was born stillborn or died at birth. Her third child, Karol Jozef, was born 18 May 1920, in Wadowice, Poland, in an apartment whose windows looked out upon the Church of Our Lady.

Emilia died on 13 April 1929 which was the anniversary of the first apparition at Fatima and also the same year that Fatima seer Lucia dos Santos was granted a vision, repeating the request that the Pope, in concert with the world's bishops, consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart.

-- Kim (mailkimg2@aol.com), January 14, 2004.

http://www.jewwatch.com/jew-religions-christianity-penetration-pope-john-paul-2-jewish-news-release.html

-- Emily Katz was jewish (rofl999@hotmail.com), October 13, 2004.

Yeah and in Hisotry I remeber oen Pope had completelh Pagan acestory... the point being?

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), October 13, 2004.