Karol Jzef Wojtya was born in the Polish town of Wadowice and was the youngest of three children of Karol Wojtya, an ethnic Pole, and Emilia Kaczorowska, who is described as being of Lithuanian ancestry

In mid-1938, Wojtya and his father left Wadowice and moved to Krakw, where he enrolled at Jagiellonian University. While studying such topics as philology and various languages, he worked as a volunteer librarian. He performed with various theatrical groups and worked as a playwright. During this time, his talent for language blossomed, and he learned as many as 12 foreign languages, nine of which he used extensively as Pope.

On finishing his studies at the seminary in Krakw, Wojtya was ordained as a priest on All Saints' Day, 1 November 1946, by the Archbishop of Krakw, Cardinal Sapieha. He then studied theology in Rome, at the Pontifical International Athenaeum Angelicum, where he earned a licentiate and later a doctorate in sacred theology.

In August 1978, following the death of Pope Paul VI, Cardinal Wojtya voted in the Papal conclave which elected Pope John Paul I, who at 65 was considered young by papal standards.

He was the second-longest serving Pope in history and the first non-Italian since 1523.

John Paul II was acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century.

He was instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe.

When he became pope in 1978, John Paul II was still an avid sportsman. At the time, the 58-year old was extremely healthy and active, jogging in the Vatican gardens, weight training, swimming, and hiking in the mountains. He was fond of football.

As pope, John Paul II wrote 14 papal encyclicals and taught about "The Theology of the Body". Some key elements of his strategy to "reposition the Catholic Church" were encyclicals such as Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia and Redemptoris Mater

John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion.

Though criticised by progressives for upholding the Church's teachings against artificial contraception and the ordination of women, and by traditionalists for his support of the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reform, he was also widely praised for his firm, orthodox Catholic stances.

He was one of the most-travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate.

During his pontificate, Pope John Paul II made trips to 129 countries, travelling more than 1,100,000 kilometres whilst doing so. He consistently attracted large crowds, some amongst the largest ever assembled in human history, such as the Manila World Youth Day, which gathered up to 4 million people, the largest Papal gathering ever, according to the Vatican.

As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,340 people and canonised 483 saints, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries.

He named most of the present College of Cardinals, consecrated or co-consecrated a large number of the world's past and current bishops, and ordained many priests.

A key goal of his papacy was to transform and reposition the Catholic Church.

His wish was "to place his Church at the heart of a new religious alliance that would bring together Jews, Muslims and Christians in a great [religious] armada".

He died in his private apartment, at 21:37 CEST(19:37 UTC) of heart failure from profound hypotension and complete circulatory collapse from septic shock, 46 days short of his 85th birthday. John Paul had no close family by the time he died, and his feelings are reflected in his words, as written in 2000, at the end of his Last Will and Testament.

19 December 2009, John Paul II was proclaimed venerable by his successor Pope Benedict XVI and was beatified on 1 May 2011.