St. John Paul II, Latin Johannes Paulus, original name Karol Józef Wojtyła, (born May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland—died April 2, 2005, Vatican City; beatified May 1, 2011; canonized April 27, 2014; feast day October 22), bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church (1978–2005), the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and the first from a Slavic country. His pontificate of more than 26 years was the third longest in history.