John Paul II (1920–2005)
Born 1920 CE, died 2005 CE.
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third-longest-serving pope in history, after St. Peter and Pius IX. In addition to this, he was an important philosopher and theologian of the 20th century. In his youth, Wojtyła worked occasionally as a stage actor. He graduated from an all-boys high school in Wadowice, Poland in 1938, shortly before World War II broke out. During the war, to avoid being kidnapped and sent to a German forced labour camp, he signed up for work in harsh conditions in a quarry. Wojtyła eventually took up acting and developed a love for the profession and participated at a local theatre. The linguistically skilled Wojtyła wanted to study Polish in university. During his studies, he was encouraged by a conversation with Adam Stefan Sapieha to study theology and become a priest. Eventually, Wojtyła rose to the position of Archbishop of Kraków and then a cardinal, both positions held by his mentor.
Text from the Wikipedia article Pope_John_Paul_II, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.