Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyła in Wadowice, Poland, was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005, the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century. Archbishop of Kraków from 1964, he visited 129 countries as pope and canonised 483 saints. His 1979 visit to Poland contributed to the formation of the Solidarity movement in 1980, and he has been credited with helping to end communist rule in Europe. He survived being shot by Mehmet Ali Ağca in 1981, and has been criticised over his response to the sexual abuse of children by priests. He was canonised in 2014.