Pope John Paul I

Pope John Paul I (Latin: Ioannes Paulus I; Italian: Giovanni Paolo I), born Albino Luciani (Italian pronunciation: [alˈbino luˈtʃani]; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978), served as Pope from 26 August 1978 to his sudden death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes, the first to occur since 1605. John Paul I remains the most recent Italian-born pope, ending a succession of such popes that started with Clement VII in 1523. He was declared a Servant of God by his successor, Pope John Paul II, on 23 November 2003, the first step on the road to sainthood.

Before the papal conclave that elected him, he expressed his desire not to be elected, telling those close to him that he would decline the papacy if elected, but upon the cardinals electing him, he felt an obligation to say "yes". He was the first pontiff to have a double name, choosing "John Paul" in honour of his two immediate predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI. He explained that he was indebted to John XXIII for naming him a bishop and to Paul VI for creating him a cardinal. Furthermore, he was the first pope to add the regnal number "I", designating himself "the First".

Pope John Paul II

Pope Saint John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus II; Italian: Giovanni Paolo II; Polish: Jan Paweł II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛv vɔjˈtɨwa]; 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. Cardinal Wojtyła 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 canonised as a saint by the Catholic Church. He is referred to by Catholics as St. 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.

Pope John Paul

Pope John Paul is the name of two Popes of the Roman Catholic Church and the only papal name with two names:

Other

Edmonton Catholic School District

Edmonton Catholic Separate School District No. 7 or the Edmonton Catholic School District (ECSD) is the Catholic school board in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Size

In size the Edmonton Catholic School District has 35,546 students, 1,910 certificated staff, and 1,238 classified staff. ECSD has a total of 88 schools.

History

In 1888, three nuns from the order of the Faithful Companions of Jesus began teaching 23 Catholic students in the very first Catholic school in Edmonton. In August 1888, Edmonton Catholic parents applied to organize a separate school district for their children. In October of that same year three sisters from the Faithful Companions of Jesus sailed from France to open a convent and a school in Edmonton. They began teaching at the newly formed St. Joachim Catholic School on 2 November 1888. That first year the sisters taught 23 students. At that time compulsory schooling began at age seven and was complete by the age of 12. From then they have grown from one school with 23 students to 88 schools with more than 35,000 students.