13 October 2008

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II) born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005) was a notable Polish religious leader who reigned as the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City from October 16, 1978 until his death, almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate after Pius IX's 32-year reign. He was the only Polish pope and the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI (Dutch) in the 1520s. John Paul II was pope during a period in which the Catholic Church's influence declined in developed countries, but expanded in the Third World. During his reign, the pope traveled extensively, visiting over 100 countries, more than any of his predecessors. He remains one of the most-traveled world leaders in history. He was fluent in numerous languages: his native Polish and also Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, Croatian, Portuguese, Russian, and Latin. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he canonized a great number of people. He beatified 1,340 people (some listed here), more people than any previous pope. The Vatican asserts he canonized more people than the combined tally of his predecessors during the last five centuries, and from a far greater variety of cultures. Whether he had canonized more saints than all previous popes put together, as is sometimes also claimed, is difficult to prove, as the records of many early canonizations are incomplete, missing, or inaccurate. However, it is known that his abolition of the office of Promotor Fidei ("Promoter of the Faith") streamlined the process.

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