Pope John Paul II
18 May 1920 - 2 April 2005
Born in May 18, 1920, Karol Wojtyla was Poland's youngest bishop at
38 and the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years.
At 58, he became the youngest Pope for more than a century. He took
on the name John Paul II after he was elected Pope on October 16,
1978.
The Pope succumbed to his illness on 2 April 2005.
Here is a brief look back
at the life of Pope John Paul II
EARLY LIFE
1930
Karol Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, near Krakow.
His father was a non-commissioned officer in the Polish army and
his mother died in 1929 when he was eight.
In 1938, he began studying philosophy and literature at the
university in Krakow which the Nazis closed when they invaded in
1939. To escape death or deportation, Wojtyla worked in a quarry
and later took an office job. In 1941 his father, the last member
of his immediate family, died.
After deciding to become a priest, Wojtyla continued working in the
quarry by day but studied secretly in the evenings with the Krakow
cardinal because the Nazis had closed the seminaries.
PATH TO PAPACY
Wojtyla was ordained in 1946 at the age of 26 and went to Rome for
advanced studies. In 1948, he returned to Poland.
He became Poland's youngest bishop at 38, was promoted to
Archbishop of Krakow in 1964 and made cardinal three years later by
Pope Paul VI.
On October 16, 1978, Wojtyla was elected the first non-Italian Pope
in 455 years. He was the 264th successor of St Peter and, at 58,
the youngest Pope for more than a century.
PAPAL MILESTONES
His pontificate has been the third-longest in the history of the
Roman Catholic Church.
He has travelled the equivalent of 30 times the circumference of
the earth, making 104 foreign trips.
The Pope has canonised 482 saints and beatified 1,338 people, more
than all of his predecessors combined.
He has held 1,160 general audiences at the Vatican, attended by
about 18 million people.
GREATEST MOMENTS
2000
Pope John Paul II fulfilled three great dreams: helping end
communism in Eastern Europe, heralding the third millennium and
visiting the Holy Land in March 2000.
He left a personal note in the cracks of the Western Wall,
Judaism's holiest site, asking for forgiveness for the past sins of
Christians against Jews.
PAPAL DOCUMENTS
Pope John Paul II has issued 14 encyclicals -- the most
authoritative form of papal writing, which the world's 1.1 billion
Catholics are expected to obey. While some discussed moral or
religious issues, others were social writings.
HEALTH
The man once called "God's athlete" has gone from being a robust
globetrotter to a frail, pained man weighed down by Parkinson's
disease and arthritis. Three years after his election, he nearly
died from wounds to the stomach and hand after a Turkish gunman
shot him. Otherwise, he enjoyed relatively good health until 1992,
when surgeons removed an intestinal tumour.
2003
In 1993, the symptoms of Parkinson's disease began to appear. Later
came problems with speech and a stooped posture. By 2003, arthritis
made it virtually impossible for him to stand or walk without
intense pain.
After more than a year of relatively good health, the Pope's health
took a turn for the worse. He underwent throat surgery on Feb. 24,
from which he has struggled to recover.
Doctors inserted a tube into his windpipe to help him breathe, and
on 30 March started feeding him through a nasal tube.
Source: Reuters