Pope John Paul II, né Karol Józef Wojtyła (born 1920-05-18 in Wadowice, Poland, died 2005-04-02 in Vatican City), was Pope — the Bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected on 1978-10-16, becoming the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and the first pope of Slavic origin in the history of the Church. hide