John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (in Polish Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, or KUL) is located in Lublin, Poland. Presently it enrols over 19,000 students. It has seven faculties: Theology, Philosophy, Law, Canon Law and Administration, Social Sciences, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and Humanities.

The university has a short history by the standards of other ancient universities of Europe. Nevertheless, this short history is quite exceptional. The university was founded in 1918 just as Poland regained its independence. The aim of the university was to be a modern place of higher education which would conduct research in the spirit of harmony between science and faith. The university sought to produce a new Catholic intelligentsia which would play a leading role in the Polish community.

The number of students increased from 399 in 1918/1919 to 1440 in 1937/1938. This growth was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War and Nazi Germany's occupation of Poland. During the occupation the university was ordered shut down and its buildings were converted into a military hospital. Many professors and students were persecuted. Nevertheless, the University carried on its teaching activities in secret. After the liberation of Lublin from the German occupation in July 1944 by the Red Army, the university reopened on 21 August, 1944.