Karol Wojtyła (senior)


Karol Wojtyła
Nickname(s)Karol
Born(1879-07-18)18 July 1879
Lipnik, Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary
Died18 February 1941(1941-02-18) (aged 61)
Kraków, General Government
Allegiance Austria-Hungary
 Second Polish Republic
BranchAustro-Hungarian Army
Polish Army
RankPorucznik
Unit56th Infantry Regiment
12th Infantry Regiment
Battles / warsWorld War I
AwardsMilitary Merit Cross
Spouse(s)Emilia Wojtyła
Children3 including Pope John Paul II, Dr Edmund Wojtyła

Karol Wojtyła (18 July 1879 – 18 February 1941) was a Polish military officer who was a non-commissioned officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army and a lieutenant of the Polish Armed Forces' administration. He was the father and namesake of Karol Józef Wojtyła, who became Pope John Paul II in 1978, and the father of Polish doctor Edmund Wojtyła. He died from what is believed to be a heart attack in 1941 while his son was away, an event considered to have influenced his son's decision to join the seminary.