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Our Lady of the Angels (OLA) School Fire, December 1, 1958



John Paul II was elected Pope at age 58 on October 16, 1978, the youngest pope of the 20th century, and the first non-Italian pope since the 15th century. On March 14, 2004, John Paul became the third longest-serving pope, after Pius IX and St. Peter.

As pope, he travelled to more places in the world and spoke to more people than any other pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. While most previous pontiffs never strayed far from the Vatican, John Paul maintained a busy travel schedule. He completed 144 pastoral visits in Italy, and 102 outside of Italy, visiting nearly 130 countries during his 26 years as Pope. He traveled more miles than all other popes combined.

Pope John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. His mother died when he was eight years old and his older brother died of scarlet fever three years later. Wojtyla's father, a sergeant in the army, died in 1941. By the time he was 20, Wojtyla had lost three immediate family members.

As a young man, Karol Wojtyla loved skiing, hiking, mountain climbing, swimming and kayaking - he also had a strong interest in the stage. He was a linguist and was fluent in 11 languages.

Before becoming Pope, Karol Wojtyla became the youngest bishop in modern Polish history at age 38. Nine years later he became the youngest cardinal in a country that was officially atheist. The College of Cardinals in Rome elected him to lead the Roman Catholic Church in 1978. His papacy ended when he passed away on April 2, 2005 at age 84.