The doctoral thesis presents the understanding of a man and a family in Karol Wojtyla's/Pope John Paul II personalist philosophy and theological anthropology, and the influence of his theological thoughts during his pontificate, on understanding a family. Personalist anthropology and analyses of love that Wojtyla elaborated in his main philosophical and theological works are the foundation for deliberation about a family, i. e. understanding family as communio personarum , as well as the centre of interpersonal relationships. The main goal of this research is to analyse and study Karol Wojtyla's works and documents in which he deals with the questions of marriage and family, and investigates the relation between his personalist anthropology and understanding of a family on one hand, and on the other hand how personalist view on family consistently leads to understanding a person. The work starts with the premise that the personalist anthropology and on it based Karol Wojtyla's personalist ethics, have a defining role in his concept of a family as communio personarum and enable original insights into the relations between community structure and personal subjectivity. According to the set goal, the research uses the combination of historical and systematic, and theological approach. Hence the research methods. In historical approach the genetic and analytical method was applied, by which in the first part the theme of a person and its communitarian dimensions were presented in historical continuity. Based on parallel analytical research and applied method of theological and philosophical interpretation of original and secondary literature in other parts, the establishment of Wojtyla's personalist concept of a family has been indicated. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part gives the view on Karol Wojtyla's/ John Paul II life, then gives the overview of the historical and Biblical development of understanding a person and different personalisms, which gave the relevant broader historical and theological frame. This has enabled better understanding of Wojtyla's metaphysical personalism and the better insight into the actuality and originality of his personalist concept of a person, which he as a pope used as the basis for his doctrine of a family.VI VI The second part shows the way how personalism became Karol Wojtyla's thought pattern. We followed the course of his intellectual journey, with the purpose of recognizing influences on the development of his theosophical and philosophical thought. Since Korol Wojtyla's understanding of a family is not possible to comprehend without his personalist anthropology and ethics, the second part expounds his concept of a man. Wojtyla develops his concept of a person in a dialogue with a tradition and Max Scheler's phenomenology. A person is a relationship creature and can not be self realised without togetherness. Consequently we analysed communitarian dimension of a person, which is essential for understanding the essence and value of a family as a community of life – communio personarum, and as a community of education. We paid special attention to the key term “participating”. On the very grounds of the term “taking part/participating”, Karol Wojtyla tries to explain, in the field of dynamic correlation of a person and an act, the social nature of a man. At the same time Karol Wojtyla develops his “theory of participating”as an antithesis to depersonalization and alienation in individualism and totalitarianism. The third part pays attention to the reflections of Wojtyla's personalist anthropology in the documents during his pontificate. Since a family as communio personarum also represents ethical reality, we demonstrated the role of value and love as an antithesis to utilitarianism and egotism. To this purpose, following Karol Wojtyla's analyses, we showed the essential factors of love and also the features of love as an experience and responsible ethical act. By the concept of communio Woytila emphasizes the personal and interpersonal dimension of all social relations. Consequently when analysing families he starts from the concept of communio in terms of togetherness, and not only community. We have started from the standpoint that Karol Wojtyla based his understanding of a man as a creature of relationships on the analogy of God- the Holy Trinity. This is why pope John Paul II put the emphasis on understanding the divine plan for a family in its human reality. According to the apostolic letter Familiaris consortio , one of the roles of a family is its educational and moral function. Therefore we have presented the application of principles of Wojtyla's personalist ethics and theological doctrine on educational field, with emphasis on education of conscience as an integral element of every education. Karol Wojtyla's theological reflection of a family is still topical nowadays in time of family crisis connected to the crisis of anthropological values. Our aim is to indicate the contribution of theological and personalist concept to Karol Wojtyla's family, so we have summarized the results of the analyses in the final conclusion, and highlighted certain featuresVII of the author's personalist concept of a family. We think this work will contribute to a better understanding among Croatian public of Wojtyla's insufficiently accepted theological anthropology and personalist phylosophy, especially of his concept of a family. The analysis contributes to constructing civilization of love and to promotion of dignity of a person and a family, as well as to overcoming the crisis of ethics in the area of human life. The analysis can open the perspectives for further research in the field of social ethics and education.