Many people know about the legendary Pope John Paul II and his death which happened on April 2, 2005. The Pope passed away at his apartment in the Vatican at 9:37 p.m. local time after suffering heart and kidney failure following two hospitalizations in as many months. Here is a short biography on Pope John Paul II.

Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

Pope John Paul's name was not always John Paul. As a matter of fact, his birth name was Karol Wojtyla. He was born in May 18, 1920 in Poland. When Karol was a teenager like all the students in our school, he was very athletic and was an academic, respectful student. He enjoyed playing different sports and hiking. When Karol was very young, he wanted to work in a theatre and become an actor or write plays. During World War II in 1942, Karol decided he wanted to be a man...