When did Pope John Paul II die, what date was his papal inauguration and who replaced him as Pope?
Pope John Paul II served as God's spokesman on Earth for 27 years
POPE John Paul II is known among some Catholics as Saint John Paul The Great — thanks in part to his lengthy spell as God's spokesman on Earth.
But who was the late Pontiff who was born born Karol Józef Wojtył? Here is all you need to know.
Who was Pope John Paul II?
Pope John Paul II was born Karol Józef Wojtył on 18 May 1920 in the Polish town of Wadowice.
He and his father moved to Krakow which in 1939 was occupied by German troops invading the country — sparking World War II.
Karol was rounded up and forced to work, but he was injured in a tram accident and was then hit by a lorry in the space of just a few months in 1940.
The death of his father from a heart attack in 1941 led him to consider priesthood, and he began studying at the Bishop's Palace in the city.
He was later honoured for helping rescue Jews from being sent to concentration camps during the Nazi occupation.
Karol left Poland after being ordained as a priest in November 1946, and travelled to Rome to further his studies.
From there he began his route up the ranks of the Catholic Church — with spells as a parish priest back in Krakow and as a teacher.
When was Pope John Paul II's papal inauguration?
In August 1978, following the death of Pope Paul VI, Cardinal Wojtyła voted in the papal conclave, which elected Pope John Paul I.
John Paul I died after only 33 days as pope — the shortest rein in papal history — triggering another conclave.
The second conclave started on 14 October.
On 16 October 1978, after eight ballots Karol Józef Wojtył came out on top with 99 votes from 111 electors.
Wojtyła became the 264th pope according to the chronological list of popes — and the first non-Italian in 455 years.
At only 58 years of age, he was the youngest pope since Pope Pius IX in 1846, who was 54.
He opted for a simplified Papal inauguration on 22 October 1978.
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When did Pope John Paul II die?
Pope John Paul II was hospitalised with breathing problems caused by a bout of influenza on 1 February 2005.
He left the hospital on 10 February, but was subsequently hospitalised again with breathing problems two weeks later and underwent a tracheotomy.
On 31 March 2005 following a urinary tract infection, he developed septic shock.
On Saturday, 2 April 2005, at approximately 15:30, he spoke his final words in Polish, "Pozwólcie mi odejść do domu Ojca" ("Allow me to depart to the house of the Father").
He then slipped into a coma about four hours later, and died at 21:37 of heart failure. He was 84 years old.
He was canonised as a saint together with Pope John XXIII on 27 April 2014.
John Paul II was succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI, the German Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, who served from 2005 until his resignation in 2013.
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