By The Associated Press
NAME – Pope John Paul II was born Karol Joseph Wojtyla.

BIRTH DATE – May 18, 1920.

AGE – 84.

BIRTH PLACE – Wadowice, Poland.

BACKGROUND – John Paul’s father was a foundry worker and an army officer, his mother a former teacher. By age 20, his only sibling and both parents were dead, and Poland had been occupied by the Nazis.

EDUCATION AND EARLY CAREER – John Paul studied for the priesthood and was ordained in 1946. He then went to Rome for more study. He returned to Poland, earned a doctorate in theology and taught at universities in Lublin and Krakow. He became auxiliary bishop of Krakow in 1958 and bishop in 1964. Three years later, Pope Paul VI made him cardinal.

PAPACY – John Paul II became pontiff in 1978 – the “year of the three popes.” He was the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years and at 58, the youngest pope in 125 years. His predecessor, John Paul I, had been pope only 33 days, succeeding Paul VI, who died after a 15-year reign.

QUOTE – “What human institution, what parliament, has the right to legalize the killing of an innocent and defenseless human being? What parliament has the right to say ‘You are free to kill,’ or even ‘killing is in order,’ where the greatest efforts should be made to protect and help life in the first place?” – Mass at Radom, Poland, June 4, 1991.