The facts of Pope John Paul II's life are well known, but hte mystery of his unique journey has not always been as clear. The pope himself once said: 'In God's plan, nothing happens by chance,' and his life bears that out. His narrow escapes from death, starting in boyhood, seem miraculous. The premature deaths of his mother, father and beloved older brother, his life under the Nazis in occupied Poland, and his years in an underground seminary all helped shaped his life choices. Later, the Cardinal of Kraków refused to give him permission to join a contemplative religious order, a decision that now seems providential.
