On 16 October 1978, the Archbishop of Cracow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła was elected as Pope and took the name John Paul II.

October 16 was established as an official celebration by the Polish Parliament on 27 July 2005 - as stated in the resolution - "a tribute to the greatest authority of the twentieth century, a man who reached into the sources of Christianity, taught us solidarity, courage and humility".

‘Man connects his deeper human identity with belonging to the nation, and he also understands his work as a multiplication of the common good worked out by his countrymen, realizing that this work is used to multiply the achievements of the whole human family, all people living in the world’ The Encyclical of John Paul II, ‚Laborem exercens’, 14 September 1981.