Health of Pope John Paul II another conclave". John Paul's obvious physical fitness and looks earned much comment in the media following his election, which compared his health and trim figure to the poor health of John Paul I and Paul VI, the portliness of Pope John XXIII and the constant claims of ailments of Pius XII. The only modern pope with a keep-fit regime had been Pope Pius XI (r: 1922-1939) who was an avid mountain climber. An "Irish Independent" article in the 1980s labelled John Paul "the keep-fit pope". However, after over twenty-five years on the papal throne, two assassination attempts (one of which
Early life of Pope John Paul II Poland they became separated and Zierer would not hear of her benefactor again until she read that he was elected as the Pope in 1978. Early life of Pope John Paul II The early life of Pope John Paul II covers the period in his life from his birth in 1920 to his ordination to the priesthood in 1946. Karol Józef Wojtyła (junior) was born on 18 May 1920 in Wadowice near the city of Kraków in southern Poland, the youngest of three children. His father was Karol Józef Wojtyła (senior), born 18 July 1879 in Lipnik (now part of