Born in 1920 in Krakow, Karol Jozef Wojtyla took the world by surprise when he was elected Pope in 1978. The world would know this Pontiff as John Paul II . Quite rapidly he became a very well-known and respected figurehead for the most dynamic activity in Vatican’s history of religious leaders: a key contributor to the fall of communism in Europe, most notably, a spirit devoted to the suffering everywhere, preaching forgiveness, peace and understanding among religions, addressing taboo issues of historical iniquities up to officially apologizing for some of the Catholic Church’s historical misdeeds, recognizing and sanctifying many prominent and meritorious Christian figures. No other Vatican pontiff managed to visit as many countries and address as many people as well as capital issues that helped to further open the Church to the new trends and expectations of the late 20th century. On issues such as abortion, contraception, married priests, women clergy, divorce and gay marriage he remained conservative raising a great deal of criticism. Still, he was the most progressive leader the Church has ever had.
Pope John Paul II almost lost his life in the 1981 harsh gun attack. His health problems began in 1992 and continued at various intervals, to become extremely frail in 2005. On April 1st, his condition worsened severely, transportation to hospital failed and he received his last rites in Vatican; his life came to an end a day later. May God rest his soul!