Saint John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyła, was the first Polish pope and the first non-Italian pope in more than four centuries. He was born on 18 May 1920 in Wadowice, near Kraków, the youngest of three children of Karol Wojtyła, a non-commissioned officer, and Emilia Kaczorowska. His mother died when he was nine, his older brother Edmund, a doctor, died of scarlet fever when he was twelve, and his father died in 1941 during the German occupation. He studied Polish literature at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków until the university was closed by the Nazis. During the war he worked in a quarry and a chemical factory while studying for the priesthood in a clandestine seminary. He was ordained on 1 November 1946 by Cardinal Adam Sapieha. He completed a doctorate in theology in Rome with a thesis on the doctrine of faith in Saint John of the Cross and later earned a second doctorate in philosophy. He served in pastoral work, taught ethics, and was appointed auxiliary bishop of Kraków in 1958, becoming the youngest bishop in Poland at the time. In 1964 he was named archbishop of Kraków and in 1967 created a cardinal by Pope Paul VI. He took part in the Second Vatican Council and contributed to the drafting of Gaudium et spes. On 16 October 1978 the cardinals elected him pope; he took the name John Paul II in honor of his short-lived predecessor. At the inauguration of his ministry on 22 October he urged the world, “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ.” His episcopal motto was Totus Tuus, “All yours,” expressing his devotion to Mary. His pontificate lasted nearly twenty-seven years, the third longest in history. He made 104 pastoral journeys outside Italy, visiting 129 countries, and traveled more than all previous popes combined. He promoted the dignity of the human person, opposed totalitarianism, and is widely credited with contributing to the peaceful collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. On 13 May 1981 he was shot and seriously wounded in Saint Peter’s Square by Mehmet Ali Ağca; he recovered and later visited and forgave his attacker. He promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, revised the Code of Canon Law, established Divine Mercy Sunday, and canonized or beatified more people than any previous pope. He established World Youth Day and met with leaders of other religions. In his later years he suffered from Parkinson’s disease yet continued his ministry. He died in the Vatican on 2 April 2005, the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday, with the words “Let me go to my Father’s house.” He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on 1 May 2011 and canonized by Pope Francis on 27 April 2014, together with Pope John XXIII. His feast is celebrated on 22 October, the anniversary of the inauguration of his pontificate. He is buried in Saint Peter’s Basilica.