BIOGRAPHY

Karol Wojtyla was elected pope on 16 October 1978, becoming the Catholic Church's first non-Italian pontiff in over 450 years and history's first Slavic pope. He took the name John Paul II as a nod to his predecessor, John Paul I, whose term lasted only one month. John Paul II became known particularly for his globetrotting ways and for increasing the international presence of the papacy; by the year 2000 he had visited more than 100 countries worldwide. He was also known as a champion of human rights and for his conservative positions on social issues like abortion, homosexuality and contraception. In 1998 he marked his 20th year as pope, making him the longest-serving pontiff of the 20th century. By then, John Paul II was struggling with increasingly poor health, visibly suffering from the slurred speech and trembling hands of Parkinson's Disease. In February of 2005, John Paul II had a tracheotomy after being taken to the hospital with breathing troubles. He received the last rites of the church on 31 March 2005, after suffering what church officials called "septic shock and a cardio-circulatory collapse" brought on by a urinary tract infection. He died in his apartments at the Vatican on 2 April 2005 and was succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 April 2005.

Extra credit: In Italian, the pope's name was Giovanni Paolo II... Pius IX had the longest term as pope in modern history; he served more than 31 years from 1846-78... John Paul II died just four days before another longtime European head of state, Rainier III of Monaco... The pope's funeral on 8 April 2005 forced the rescheduling of the marriage of Britain's Prince Charles to Camilla Parker-Bowles, which had been planned for that same day.

Famous Catholic saints include Bernadette of Lourdes, St. Patrick and Joan of Arc.

Those considered potential successors to John Paul II include his close aide Joseph Ratzinger, the Italian cardinals Dionigi Tettamanzi and Angelo Scola, and Nigerian cardinal Francis Arinze.