Pope Saint John Paul II was born in a small village in Poland. During World War II, when the Nazis invaded Poland, he secretly studied for the priesthood in an underground seminary established by the archbishop of Krakow. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1946.
He was vicar of various parishes in Krakow as well as chaplain to university students.
In 1958, he was appointed titular bishop of Ombi and auxiliary of Krakow.
In 1964, he was appointed archbishop of Krakow and was made a cardinal in 1967.
The Cardinals elected him Pope at the Conclave of October 16, 1978
and he took the name of John Paul II.
He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI (1522-23) and the first Polish pope ever. He was the youngest pope since Pius IX (1846-78). He was the most Most-travelled pope in history and he was the first to visit a synagogue and a mosque. He served as Pope for 26 years and was one of the most-travelled world leaders in history,visiting 129 countries during his pontificate.He was fluent in many languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, English, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Russian, Croatian, Ancient Greek, Latin, Esperanto and Polish. He even survived an assasination attempt. Pope John Paul II died on the 2nd April 2005.
John Paul II was canonised by Pope Francis in 2014, which means he is now known as Saint John Paul II. His feast day is the 22nd October.