John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla)

John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) (b. 18 May 1920, d. 2 April 2005). Pope 1978–2005 Following his studies in philology and a brief career as an actor, he began studying theology at the illegal Polish theological seminary in Kraków in 1942, and then continued his degree in Rome. Ordained to the priesthood in 1946, he became a professor at the Catholic University of Lublin. A suffragan bishop in 1958, he became archbishop (in 1964) and then cardinal (in 1967) of Kraków. On 16 October 1978, he was the first ever Pole, and the first non-Italian since 1523, to be elected Pope. He became known as the ‘travelling Pope’, energetically travelling round the globe in recognition of the worldwide role of the Roman Catholic Church. A conservative on doctrinal matters, he has reaffirmed the Roman Catholic commitment to a male, celibate priesthood, total opposition to artificial contraception and abortion, and the affirmation of Catholic practices such as the veneration of saints (especially the Virgin Mary). He has also strengthened the conservatism of the Church through the appointment of conservative cardinals, promoting organizations such as Opus Dei, and opposing doctrinally more radical movements such as liberation theology. At the same time, he has been progressive on political and social matters, e.g. through his pacifist condemnation of the Gulf War and his encyclical Solicitudo Rei Socialis (1988), which emphasized the social responsibilities of the Church. Through his unprecedented worldwide travels, he continued his predecessors' progress towards recognizing the global dimension of the Church and the growing importance of Latin America, Africa, and Asia within it. Moreover, his visits to his native Poland in 1979, 1983, and 1987 gave a crucial stimulus to the anti-Communist opposition, the Solidarność movement, which ultimately culminated in the downfall of Communism in Poland and throughout Eastern Europe. His growing frailty in old age was partly attributed to his suffering from Parkinson's disease.