John Paul II visited 129 countries during his pontificate – more countries than any other pope up to that point. “This was the successor of Peter, on pilgrimage to various parts of the world, of the Church,” Weigel said. “And that’s why these pilgrimages were always built around liturgical events, prayer, adoration of the Holy Eucharist, ecumenical and interreligious gatherings – all of this was part of a pilgrimage experience.” In the latter half of the 20th century – a time of enormous social upheaval – John Paul II’s extensive travels and proclamation of the Gospel to the ends of the earth were just what the world needed, Weigel said. John Paul II’s legendary evangelical fervor took fire in Africa, where he spread Catholicism to new levels.
John Paul II was a scholar who promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, reformed the Eastern and Western Codes of Canon Law during his pontificate, and authored 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions and 45 apostolic letters. This is why Weigel said the Church has only begun to unpack what he calls the “magisterium” of John Paul II, in the form of his writings and his intellectual influence.