Pope John Paul II, born
Karol Józef Wojtyła
18
May
1920 –
2
April
2005,
reigned as the 264th
Pope
of the
Catholic Church and Sovereign of the
State of the Vatican City from
16 October
1978,
until his death more than 26 years later, making his the
second-longest pontificate in modern times after
Pius IX's 31-year reign. He is the only
Polish pope, and was the first non-
Italian
pope since the Dutch
Adrian VI in the 1520s. He is one of only four people to
have been named to the
Time 100 for both the
20th century and for a year in the 21st.
His early reign
was marked by his opposition to
communism, and he is often credited as one of the forces
which contributed to its collapse in Eastern Europe.[1]
In the later part of his pontificate, he was notable for
speaking against
war,
fascism,
dictatorship,
materialism,
abortion,
contraception,
relativism, unrestrained
capitalism, and what he deemed the "culture
of death".
John Paul II became known as the "Pilgrim Pope" for traveling
greater distances than had all his predecessors combined.
According to John Paul II, the trips symbolized bridge-building
efforts (in keeping with his title as
Pontifex Maximus, literally Master Bridge-Builder) between
nations and religions, attempting to remove divisions created
through history.
$11.99
