John Paul II was the first canonized pope of the modern era to have been born in Poland.
Born Karol Józef Wojtyła in Wadowice, Poland, in 1920, he was ordained a priest in 1946 and became archbishop of Kraków in 1964. Elected pope in 1978, he took the name John Paul II and served until his death in 2005, one of the longest pontificates in Catholic history.
His papacy included extensive international travel, opposition to communism, and a major role in the Catholic Church’s preparation for the third millennium. Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in 2011, and Pope Francis canonized him on April 27, 2014, together with John XXIII.
The wording matters because John Paul I was born in Italy and was also canonized in 2022. John Paul II’s birthplace was Wadowice, not Kraków, although Kraków became central to his ministry.