"In the Name of Beauty": The pulchrum as Splendor, Gift and Path in Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II

Throughout his academic and pontifical teachings, Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II's reference to the three transcendentals -the verum, the bonum, and the pulchrum- has been constant. This article exposes the thought of Pope Wojtyla regarding beauty from a triple perspective: first, beauty as splendor, both of the glory of God and of truth and goodness. Second, beauty as a gift or participation, manifested in the case of creative genius and human love. Finally, and as a synthesis of the previous two, beauty as a way to delve into the mystery of man, the world and God (the via pulchritudinis).