Pope John Paul II

Who is Pope John Paul II?

Karol Józef Wojtyła, who became Pope John Paul II, was born in Wadowice, Poland. Ordained a priest in 1946, he rose to become Archbishop of Kraków and a cardinal. In 1978 he was elected pope, becoming the first non-Italian pontiff in more than four centuries and the first ever from Poland. His pontificate, one of the longest in history, spanned more than twenty-six years. He was a central moral and political figure whose visits to his homeland helped inspire the Solidarity movement and are widely credited with contributing to the peaceful collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. He travelled more extensively than any previous pope, reaching over a hundred countries, and worked to improve relations with other Christian denominations, Judaism, and Islam. He survived an assassination attempt in 1981. He was canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church in 2014.

Sources: George Weigel, 'Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II', 1999 · John Paul II, encyclical 'Redemptor Hominis', 1979