Pope John Paul II died on 2 April 2005, and was succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI. Pope John Paul II has been credited with fighting against dictatorships and with helping to end communist rule in his native Poland and the rest of Europe. [15]
St. John Paul II was pope, the bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church, from 1978 to 2005. Born in Poland, he was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and the first from a Slavic country. His pontificate of more than 26 years was the third longest in history. He was canonized in 2014.
On , Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, Archbishop of Krakow, was elected the 263rd successor to Saint Peter and chose the name John Paul II in honor of the late John Paul I. Pope John Paul II was the first ever Slavic pope elected, and at 58-years-old, he was youngest pope in over a century.
John Paul II 264th Pope of the Catholic Church ... Angelus / Regina Caeli Apostolic Constitutions Apostolic Exhortations Apostolic Letters Audiences Biography Books Bulls Encyclicals Homilies Jubilee Motu Proprio Letters Messages Prayers Speeches Travels
Twenty years after his death, the memory of Pope St. John Paul II remains vivid in the hearts of millions. His papacy, the third longest in the history of the Church, left an indelible mark not only on Catholicism but also on the political and cultural fabric of the modern world.
Cardinal Wojtyła was elected Pope taking the name Pope John Paul II, a non-Italian, for the first time in 455 years. The new Pope had been prepared for his task through his own suffering and the suffering of his people.