MOSCOW -- Sixty years ago when friends of a young Pole, Karol Wojtyla, grieved that the talented actor was abandoning the stage for a Catholic seminary, their concerns were in vain. Actually, though, the young man never quit acting. As Pope John Paul II, he became the greatest artistic star in the world.
It was partly due to his looks. Wojtyla was born handsome. At the age of 60, as a young and aspiring pope, he looked dazzling: deep-set intense eyes, finely chiseled chin, prominent cheekbones, a yet sparsely furrowed forehead. Even in old age and crippled by illness, he still kept a winning mischievous smile.
Each time he faced a crowd, unsolvable magic called charisma happened: People went berserk with excitement and occasionally true happiness. The pope not just survived years of encounters with ill health -- he needed them, getting energized and almost rejuvenated each time.