Is there someting special about this Pope that I dont know about?
Well any canonised saint can be considered great because during the investigation into to their life for their cause for canonisation they were considered to have led a life of “heroic virtue” (Who becomes a saint in the Catholic Church, and is that changing?) but in terms of Pope Saint John Paul II, some have asked for him to be called a doctor of the church himself (he wrote 39 major treatises covering the whole spectrum of faith and morals, and spirituality (including his well known “theology of the body”), as well as giving countless addresses and speeches (and approving the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the revised Code of Canon Law, and the revised Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches) (President of Polish Episcopate Asks Pope Francis to Proclaim St. John Paul II Doctor of Church and Patron of Europe - ZENIT - English). He is also said to have played a central role in the fall of communism in Europe. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (who was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith between 1982 and 2005 and would have worked with John Paul II closely over this time) said he had the “strength of a lion.” I also read somewhere that in his final years, he would refuse painkillers (obviously to remain in pain and offer this suffering to God in union with Christ’s suffering for the good of the world). Obviously when a theologian of great learning (which John Paul II obviously was), as well as a reigning Pope requests an investigation into the cause for a doctor of the church, it says a lot about the quality of the individual’s works….
. He was a giant in every sphere… and most importantly, very holy.
My friend’s mother decided to become a Catholic while watching John Paul II’s funeral in 2005 (it was broadcast live from the Vatican to Australia), she enrolled in the RCIA, and became a Catholic!His funeral, which I watched on television in 2005 as a brand new convert myself, was the biggest funeral in human history. 4 million people, if I recall correctly, poured into Rome to be there. All the leaders of the world… that should tell you something
The source, in this case, is fine. But, the source of the source doesn’t really explain anything. These issues (concerning canonizations and “doctorates”) are not usually discussed in public so I doubt there is any solid information out there. We tend to only hear when things are approved, not when they fall by the wayside.