Pope John Paul II Last Will

Download this free copy of the Last Will of Thomas Paine (1737-1809).

• Thomas Paine was a radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, who is probably best known for writing the pamphlet "Common Sense", advocating America's independence from Great Britain, and for his book The Age of Reason which promotes reason and free thinking and argues against institutionalized religion.
• Paine was deeply involved in the early stages of the French Revolution. Despite not speaking French, he was elected to the French National Convention in 1792. The Girondists regarded him as an ally, so, the Montagnards, especially Robespierre, regarded him as an enemy. In December of 1793, he was arrested and imprisoned in Paris, then released in 1794. Paine remained in France during the early Napoleonic era, but condemned Napoleon's dictatorship, calling him "the completest charlatan that ever existed".
• In 1802, at President Jefferson's invitation, he returned to America where he died on June 8, 1809. Only six people attended his funeral as he had been ostracized for his attacks of Christianity.

Source of information: Wikipedia.org

Download a free copy of the Last Will of John Calvin (1509-1564).

• John Calvin (Jean Cauvin) was a French theologian, pastor and writer during the Protestant Reformation, and a principal figure in the development of the Christian theology system which was later called Calvinism.
• Calvin broke away from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530 but was forced to flee to Switzerland when religious tensions in Franch provoked violent uprisings against the Protestants.
• As church leader, introduced new forms of church government and liturgy in Geneva, despite the opposition of several powerful families who tried to suppress his authority. Calvin spent his final years promoting the Reformation both in Geneva and throughout Europe.
• Calvin was influenced by the Augustinian tradition, and expounded the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation.
• Calvin's writing and preachings provided the seeds for the branch of theology that bears his name. The Presbyterian and other Reformed churches, which look to Calvin as a chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world.

This is a copy of the Will of Epicurus (341 BC-270 BC).

• Epicurus founded one of the major philosophies of ancient Greece, helping to lay the intellectual foundations for modern science and for secular individualism.
• Many aspects of his thought are still highly relevant some twenty-three centuries after they were first taught in his school in Athens, called 'the Garden.'
• Epicurus's philosophy combines a physics based on an atomistic materialism with a rational hedonistic ethic that emphasizes moderation of desires and cultivation of friendships.
• His world-view is an optimistic one that stresses that philosophy can liberate one from fears of death and the supernatural, and can teach us how to find happiness in almost any situation.
• His practical insights into human psychology, as well as his science-friendly world-view, gives Epicureanism great contemporary signficance as well as a venerable role in the intellectual development of Western Civilization.

The above taken from www.epicurus.net

This is a copy of the Last Will and Testament of Pope John XXIII (1881-1963).

• Pope John XXIII was Pope for only a few years - from 1958 until his death in 1963.
• He was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in the Lombardy region of Italy.
• He served in the Royal Italian Army in World War I as a stretcher bearer and chaplain.
• As nuncio during World War II he made many efforts to save Jewish refugees from the Holocaust.
• He was known affectionately as 'Good Pope John' and was considered the most beloved Pope in history.
• In 2000 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II.

Download a free copy of the Last Will & Testament of Pope Paul VI (1897-1978).

• Born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, Pope Paul VI reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 1963 to 1978.
• He succeeded Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, and Pope Paul decided to continue it. He took on the name Paul, to indicate a renewed worldwide mission to spread the message of Christ.
• Pope Paul fostered improved ecumenical relations with Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants. His positions on birth control and other issues were controversial in the Western world, but applauded in Eastern and Southern Europe and Latin America.
• His pontificate took place during sometimes revolutionary changes in the world, student revolts, the Vietnam War and other upheavals. Paul VI tried to understand it all but at the same time defend the Deposit of Faith as it was entrusted to him.
• Pope Paul VI died on 6 August 1978, the Feast of the Transfiguration. The diocesan process for beatification Paul VI began on 11 May 1993.

Source: Wikipedia.org