100th Birthday of Pope John Paul II

A portrait of the pope canonised in 2014, alongside the family home where he was born, next to the basilica in his birthplace of Wadowice, Poland. At the upper left, the semicircular inscription 'PAPA GIOVANNI PAOLO II'. To the right, the years '1920 2020' and the mint mark 'R'. Along the lower edge, the issuing state 'CITTÀ DEL VATICANO' in a semicircle. Below the basilica, the name of designer Gabriella Titotto ('G. TITOTTO') and the initials of engraver Maria Angela Cassol ('M.A.C. INC').

Karol Józef Wojtyła was born on 18 May 1920 in Wadowice, a small town in the southern Polish region of Małopolska. Growing up amid Austro-Hungarian architecture and in the shadow of the Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, he experienced the early loss of his mother and his brother. Nevertheless, he completed studies in Polish philology in Kraków, interrupted by the German occupation during the Second World War - he worked as a labourer and secretly studied theology. Ordained a priest in 1946, he rose quickly: auxiliary bishop in 1958, Archbishop of Kraków in 1964, cardinal in 1967. His theology combined phenomenological philosophy with a pastorally grounded anthropology, which he developed in writings such as "Love and Responsibility."

In 1978, the College of Cardinals elected Wojtyła pope - as John Paul II, he became the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years and the first Polish pope ever. His 26-year pontificate shaped the world Church both structurally and substantively: he travelled to more than 100 countries, actively pursued ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, and his support for the Solidarity trade union movement is regarded as a contributing factor in the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. After his death in 2005, the beatification process was completed at record speed; Pope Francis canonised him in 2014 together with John XXIII. In 2020, on the occasion of his 100th birthday, the Vatican issued a 2-euro commemorative coin featuring the portrait of the saint alongside a view of his birthplace in Wadowice, honouring this extraordinary life.