Wikipedia
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informs us:
"Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus II; Italian: Giovanni Paolo II; Polish: Jan Pawel II), born Karol Józef Wojtyla[a]... 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005), served as Pope from 1978 to 2005. He was elected by the second Papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who was elected in August after the death of Pope Paul VI, died after thirty-three days. Then-Cardinal Wojtyla was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted his predecessor's name in tribute to him. In the years since his death, John Paul II has been declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. He is referred to by Roman Catholics as Pope Saint John Paul II or Saint John Paul the Great, for example as a name for institutions.
John Paul II is recognised as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. He upheld the Church's teachings on such matters as artificial contraception and the ordination of women, but also supported the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reforms.
He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,340 people and canonised 483 saints, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. By the time of his death, he had named most of the College of Cardinals, consecrated or co-consecrated a large number of the world's bishops, and ordained many priests. A key goal of his papacy was to transform and reposition the Catholic Church. His wish was "to place his Church at the heart of a new religious alliance that would bring together Jews, Muslims and Christians in a great religious armada"."
The Coat of Arms
Azure a cross or, the upright placed to dexter and the crossbar enhanced, in sinister base an M of the same. (on a blue shield, a golden cross, off-centered to the upper left, with a capital M in the lower right corner). Wojtyla adopted his coat of arms in 1958, when he was created bishop, but with the charges in black instead of gold. As this violated the heraldic "tincture's canon" (black on blue, color on color) upon Wojtyla's election as pope, Vatican heraldist Monsignor Bruno Bernard Heim suggested he replace black by gold. The design shows the "Marian Cross", a cross with a capital M for Mary inscribed in one quarter, recalling "the presence of Mary beneath the cross"
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Marian Cross
A Marian Cross is a term to describe a symbolic representation of the close connection of Mary, with the redemptive mission of Jesus. The letter "M" below the cross indicates Mary's presence at the foot of the cross.
The papal coat of arms of John Paul II consists of a Latin cross with the crossbar extended on the viewer's right (heraldic) sinister), together with a letter "M" (for the Virgin Mary) under the extended arm of the cross. The vertical part of the cross has been shifted slightly to the left to make room for the capital M, which represents Mary’s presence at Jesus’ death on the cross.
In a 1978 article, Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, reported:
The coat of arms for Pope John Paul II is intended to be a homage to the central mystery of Christianity, that of
Redemption. It mainly represents a cross, whose form however does not correspond to any of the usual heraldry
models. The reason for the unusual shift of the vertical part of the cross is striking, if one considers the second
object included in the Coat of Arms: the large and majestic capital M, which recalls the presence of the
Madonna under the Cross and Her exceptional participation in Redemption. The Pontiff’s intense devotion to the
Holy Virgin is manifested in this manner.
John Paul wrote: "As is well-known, in my episcopal arms, which are a symbolic illustration of the gospel text John 19:25-27." ("Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son.' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother.'")
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