76+ Best Pope John Paul II Quotes: Exclusive Selection

Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 to 2005. He was elected pope by the second papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who had been elected in August to succeed Pope Paul VI, died after 33 days. Profoundly inspirational Pope John Paul II quotes will make you look at life differently and help you live a meaningful life.

If you’re searching for quotes from influential Christians that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of profound Ravi Zacharias quotes, amazing Rick Warren quotes and top Saint Augustine quotes.

Famous Pope John Paul II Quotes

In the newborn child is realized the common good of the family. Pope John Paul II

The future starts today, not tomorrow. Pope John Paul II

The history of mankind, the history of salvation, passes by way of the family. Pope John Paul II

Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song. Pope John Paul II

As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live. Pope John Paul II

Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it. Pope John Paul II

Love that leads to marriage is a gift from God and a great act of faith toward other human beings. Pope John Paul II

The earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations. Pope John Paul II

The family is placed at the center of the great struggle between good and evil, between life and death, between love and all that is opposed to love. Pope John Paul II

Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Pope John Paul II

The sickness of a family member, friend, or neighbor is a call to Christians to demonstrate true compassion, that gentle and persevering sharing in another’s pain. Pope John Paul II

I plead with you never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid. Pope John Paul II

To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others. Pope John Paul II

Know what you are talking about. Pope John Paul II

The great danger for family life, in the midst of any society whose idols are pleasure, comfort, and independence, lies in the fact that people close their hearts and become selfish. Pope John Paul II

A person’s rightful due is to be treated as an object of love, not as an object for use. Pope John Paul II

Marriage is an act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family a domestic church. Pope John Paul II

Faith and Reason are like two wings of the human spirit by which is soars to the truth. Pope John Paul II

We are all one family in the world. Building a community that empowers everyone to attain their full potential through each of us respecting each other’s dignity, rights and responsibilities make the world a better place to live. Pope John Paul II

True freedom is not advanced in the permissive society, which confuses freedom with license to do anything whatever and which in the name of freedom proclaims a kind of general amorality. It is a caricature of freedom to claim that people are free to organize their lives with no reference to moral values, and to say that society does not have to ensure the protection and advancement of ethical values. Such an attitude is destructive of freedom and peace. Pope John Paul II

The worst prison would be a closed heart. Pope John Paul II

As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live. John Paul II

Love is never defeated, and I could add, the history of Ireland proves it. Pope John Paul II

Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace. Peace will be the last word of history. John Paul II

Darkness can only be scattered by light, hatred can only be conquered by love. Pope John Paul II

There is no dignity when the human dimension is eliminated from the person. In short, the problem with pornography is not that it shows too much of the person, but that it shows far too little. Pope John Paul II

Love between man and woman cannot be built without sacrifices and self denial. Pope John Paul II

Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence. Pope John Paul II

A person’s rightful due is to be treated as an object of love, not as an object for use. Pope John Paul II

It is the duty of every man to uphold the dignity of every woman. Pope John Paul II

A person is an entity of a sort to which the only proper and adequate way to relate is love. Pope John Paul II

Love between man and woman cannot be built without sacrifices and self denial. John Paul II

Friendship, as has been said, consists in a full commitment of the will to another person with a view to that person’s good. Pope John Paul II

Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet, as Genesis has it, all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece. John Paul II

There is no place for selfishness and no place for fear! Do not be afraid, then, when love makes demands. Do not be afraid when love requires sacrifice. Pope John Paul II

We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus. Pope John Paul II

When a young man or woman recognizes that authentic love is a precious treasure, they are also enabled to live their sexuality in accordance with the divine plan. Pope John Paul II

The Gospel lives in conversation with culture, and if the Church holds back from the culture, the Gospel itself falls silent. Therefore, we must be fearless in crossing the threshold of the communication and information revolution now taking place. Pope John Paul II

Genuine love is demanding. But its beauty lies precisely in the demands it makes. Only those able to make demands on themselves in the name of love can then demand love from others. Pope John Paul II

Take away from love the fullness of self surrender, the completeness of personal commitment, and what remains will be a total denial and negation of it. Pope John Paul II

Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Pope John Paul II

Limitation of one’s freedom might seem to be something negative and unpleasant, but love makes it a positive, joyful and creative thing. Freedom exists for the sake of love. John Paul II

It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you. Pope John Paul II

This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops. Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern metropolis. Pope John Paul II

The way Jesus shows you is not easy. Rather, it is like a path winding up a mountain. Do not lose heart! The steeper the road, the faster it rises towards ever wider horizons. Pope John Paul II

Merry Christmas! Pope John Paul II

What really matters in life is that we are loved by Christ and that we love Him in return. In comparison to the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary. And, without the love of Jesus, everything is useless. Pope John Paul II

Humanity should question itself, once more, about the absurd and always unfair phenomenon of war, on whose stage of death and pain only remains standing the negotiating table that could and should have prevented it. Pope John Paul II

There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us. There is no enemy that Christ has not already conquered. Pope John Paul II

Learning to think rigorously, so as to act rightly and to serve humanity better. Pope John Paul II

I plead with you never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid. Pope John Paul II

Life is entrusted to man as a treasure which must not be squandered, as a talent which must be used well. Pope John Paul II

Let us remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look forward to the future with confidence.  Pope John Paul II

The ethos of redemption is realied in self mastery, by means of temperance, that is, continence of desires. Pope John Paul II

The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being. Pope John Paul II

Without wonder, men and women would lapse into deadening routine and little by little would become incapable of a life which is genuinely personal. Pope John Paul II

Prayer can truly change your life. For it turns your attention away from yourself and directs your mind and your heart toward the Lord. If we look only at ourselves, with our own limitations and sins, we quickly give way to sadness and discouragement. But if we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, then our hearts are filled with hope, our minds are washed n the light of truth, and we come to know the fullness of the Gospel with all is promise and life. Pope John Paul II

The battle against the devil, which is the principal task of Saint Michael the Archangel, is still being fought today, because the devil is still alive and active in the world. Pope John Paul II

When man turns his back on the Creator’s plan, he provokes a disorder which has inevitable repercussions on the rest of the created order. If man is not at peace with God, then earth itself cannot be at peace. Pope John Paul II

The cross means there is no shipwreck without hope; there is no dark without dawn; nor storm without haven. Pope John Paul II

Nobody is so poor he has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich he has nothing to receive. Pope John Paul II

Marriage is an act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family a domestic church. Pope John Paul II

It’s better to cry than be angry because anger hurts others while tears flow silently through the soul and cleans the heart. Pope John Paul II

Love demands a personal commitment to the will of God. Pope John Paul II

Allow the light and the healing presence of Christ to shine brightly through your lives. In that way, all those who come in contact with you will discover the loving kindness of God. Pope John Paul II

The true Christian can nurture a trustful optimism, because he is certain of not walking alone. In sending us Jesus, the eternal Son made man, God has drawn near to each of us. In Christ he has become our travelling companion. Pope John Paul II

Thus to share in the sufferings of Christ is, at the same time, to suffer for the kingdom of God. In the eyes of the just God, before his judgment. Those who share in the sufferings of Christ become worthy of this kingdom. Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Pope John Paul II

Original sin is not only the violation of a positive command but attempts to abolish fatherhood, destroying its rays which permeate the created world, placing in doubt the truth about God who is Love and leaving man with only a sense of the master slave relationship. Pope John Paul II

Jesus Christ has taken the lead on the way of the cross. He has suffered first. He does not drive us toward suffering but shares it with us, wanting us to have life and to have it in abundance. Pope John Paul II

Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought. Pope John Paul II

Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song. Pope John Paul II

None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands. Pope John Paul II

The future is in your hearts and in your hands. God is entrusting to you the task, at once difficult and uplifting, of working with Him in the building of the civilization of love. Pope John Paul II

Men are like wine some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age. Saint Pope John Paul II