Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (; ; ; born Karol Józef Wojtyła; ; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) served as Pope and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 to 2005. He was elected by the second Papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who had been elected in August to succeed Pope Paul VI, died after 33 days. Cardinal Wojtyła was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted his predecessor's name in tribute to him. John Paul II is recognised as helping to end Communist
Pope John Paul II bibliography name was Karol Wojtyla. The following is a list of plays written by Pope John Paul II. The following is a list of books of poetry written by Pope John Paul II. The following is a list of audio recordings produced by Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II issued 14 Papal encyclicals during his reign as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church for over 26 years, from his election on 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005. Encyclicals (from Latin "encyclia", from the Greek "en kyklo, ", meaning "general" or "encircling") were originally circular letters