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Pope John Paul II was born Karol Józef Wojtyla. He was born in Wadowice, Poland.
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He went to Jagiellonian University, but had to stop his studies during World War II and worked as a manual laborer. Once the war ended he went back to his studies.
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He gets ordained as a priest. Then he goes to Rome for graduate studies.
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He is named auxiliary bishop Krakow parish. Krakow is in Poland so he went back to his home country after finishing school
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He is named Archbishop of Krakow. He also attended Vatican II second session. The session was for Vatican II Council
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He is made a cardinal. Also named to first world Synod of Bishops, but stays home to protest government.
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He attends first of the several bishops' synods in Rome. Then is elected to permanent council.
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He is elected the 264th pope and bishop of Rome. Made history by being the first non-Italian pope in more than 400 years. http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/from-the-archives-cbs-news-special-report-the-election-of-pope-john-paul-ii/
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Becomes the first modern pope to hear confessions. Convinces special Dutch synod to fix the problems in the Dutch church.
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He gets shot in St. Peter's Square at Vatican City and becomes severely wounded. He was shot by Mehmet Ali Ağca while he was entering the square. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCwPFf8O00A
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On this date Pope John Paul II called he heads of the governments of the U.S. and Soviet Union to negotiate an end to the arms race. The arms race was a competition to see who had the best armed forces.
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On this date he made a historic visit to Rome's main synagogue. At this synagogue was the oldest Jewish group in the Diaspora.
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On this date he published his book. The title of this book is Crossing the Threshold of Hope. This book had sold over several million copies and was published in forty languages.
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On this date he celebrated his 20th anniversary of being the pope. He asked for prayers to fulfill his mission until the end.
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On this date he became the first pope to visit Greece since Schism. He issued a sweeping apology for "sins of action and omission" by Roman Catholics against Orthodox Christians.
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On this day it was confirmed the pope had Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's is a long-term movement disorder, some cases get worse over the years.
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Over the course of 3 months from February to April pope John Paul II had been in and out of hospitals for difficulty breathing and the flu. Then in April dies, at the age of 84.
