John Paul II

Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005. In his youth, Wojtyła dabbled in stage acting. He graduated with excellent grades from an all-boys high school in Wadowice, Poland, in 1938, soon after which World War II broke out. During the war, to avoid being kidnapped and sent off to a German forced labour camp, he signed up for work in harsh conditions in a quarry.