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Pope John Paul II was born in Wadowice, Poland on May 18, 1920 as Karol Józef Wojtyła and died on April 2, 2005. He was Pope, Bishop of Rome, head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Sovereign of Vatican City. He was Pope for 27 years, the second longest serving Pope. Saint Peter, the first Pope, is not counted as an elected Pope.

The longest serving pope was 19th-century Pope Pius IX who held the office for 31 years and seven months. The third longest Pope was Pope Leo XIII who held the office from 1878 to 1903.

In 1938 Karol Wojtyla chose to become a professional actor and he took acting classes. In July 1939, he did the basic mandatory 2 months army training for college bound men. After the death of his father, John Paul entered the Krakow Seminary in 1941 and was ordained a priest by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha on November 1, 1946. A few years later he was elected Bishop, Arch-Bishop, and Poland's youngest Cardinal. He was in charge of the Second Vatican Council. His writings and ideas were an influence on the Council's decisions.

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