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[[Image:John_Paul_II.jpg|thumb|Pope John Paul II]]
'''John Paul II''' (Latin: ''Ioannes Paulus PP. II'', Italian: ''Giovanni Paolo II'', Polish: ''Jan Paweł II'') born '''Karol Józef Wojtyła''' [{{IPA|ˈkaɾɔl ˈjuzεf vɔi̯ˈtɨwa}}] ([[May 18]], [[1920]], [[Wadowice]], [[Poland]] – [[April 2]], [[2005]], [[Vatican City]]) reigned as [[Pope]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]] and Sovereign of the [[State of the Vatican City]] from [[October 16]], [[1978]], until his death more than 26 years later, making his the second-longest pontificate in modern times after Pius IX's 31-year reign. He is the only Polish pope, and was the first non-Italian pope since the (Low) German Adrian VI in the 1520s. He is one of only four people to have been named to the [[Time 100]] for both the [[20th century]] and for a year in the 21st.
The official title of John Paul II , as recognized by the Roman Catholic Church was: Bishop of Rome, Vicar of [[Jesus Christ]], Successor of Saint Peter, Head of the College of Bishops, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West (this title was recently removed from the papal list of titles by the reigning pope, [[Benedict XVI]]), Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the City State of the Vatican, Servant of the Servants of God Pope John Paul II.
His early reign was marked by his opposition to [[communism]], and he is often credited as one of the forces which contributed to its collapse in Eastern Europe.<ref>"[http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/04/02/world.reax/index.html World mourns Pope John Paul II]," ''CNN'', (accessed [[April 13]] [[2006]]).</ref> In the later part of his pontificate, he was notable for speaking against [[war]], [[fascism]], [[dictatorship]], [[materialism]], [[abortion]], [[birth control|contraception]], [[relativism]], unrestrained [[capitalism]], and what he deemed the "[[culture of death]]".
