Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus II; Italian: Giovanni Paolo II; Polish: Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛv vɔjˈtɨwa];[b] 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005. He was later canonised as Pope Saint John Paul II. In his youth, he also dabbled in stage acting.
Having graduated with excellent grades from an all-boys high school in Wadowice shortly before the start of the war, in 1938, Karol Wojtyła was highly respected. Coming from the Generation of Columbuses, one in four of all his schoolmates did not survive World War II. During the war, Wojtyła went through struggles of his own. To avoid being kidnapped and sent off to a German slave labor camp he signed up for work in harsh conditions in a quarry. He was also struck by a German army truck and by a tram and barely survived these events. He took up acting and developed a love for the profession and participated at a local theater. The linguistically-skilled Wojtyła wanted to study Polish at university. Encouraged by a conversation with Prince Adam Stefan Sapieha, he decided to study theology and become a priest. Eventually, Karol Wojtyła rose to the position of Archbishop of Kraków and then Cardinal, both positions held by his mentor previously. Cardinal Wojtyła was elected pope on the third day of the second papal conclave of 1978 (becoming one of the youngest popes in history), which was called after John Paul I, who had been elected in the first papal conclave of 1978 earlier in August to succeed Pope Paul VI, died after 33 days. Wojtyła adopted the name of his predecessor in tribute to him. Born in Poland, John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third longest-serving pope in history after Pius IX and St. Peter. John Paul II attempted to improve the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the spirit of ecumenism, holding atheism as the greatest threat. He maintained the Church's previous positions on such matters as abortion, artificial contraception, the ordination of women, and a celibate clergy, and although he supported the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, he was seen as generally conservative in their interpretation. He put a lot of emphasis on family, identity, and questioned consumerism, hedonism and the pursuit of wealth. He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,344, and also canonised 483 people, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. By the time of his death, he had named most of the College of Cardinals, consecrated or co-consecrated many of the world's bishops, and ordained many priests. He has been credited with fighting against dictatorships for democracy and with helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and the rest of Europe. Under John Paul II, the Catholic Church greatly expanded its influence in Africa and Latin America, and retained its influence in Europe and the rest of the world.
John Paul II's cause for canonisation commenced one month after his death with the traditional five-year waiting period waived. On 19 December 2009, John Paul II was proclaimed venerable by his successor, Benedict XVI, and was beatified on 1 May 2011 (Divine Mercy Sunday) after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints attributed one miracle to his intercession, the healing of a French nun called Marie Simon Pierre from Parkinson's disease. A second miracle was approved on 2 July 2013, and confirmed by Pope Francis two days later. John Paul II was canonised on 27 April 2014 (again Divine Mercy Sunday), together with John XXIII. On 11 September 2014, Pope Francis added these two feast days to the worldwide General Roman Calendar of saints. While saints' feast days are traditionally celebrated on the anniversary of their deaths, that of John Paul II (22 October) is celebrated on the anniversary of his papal inauguration, due to Lent or Easter Octave usually falling on the date of his death, 2 April. Posthumously, he has been referred to by some Catholics as "Pope St. John Paul the Great", although the title has no official recognition. He has been criticised for allegedly condoning the sexual abuse of children by priests in Poland as archbishop, though the allegations themselves are criticized.

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