Photo SpecialPope John Paul II: 1920-2005
Look at the life of the beloved and controversial cleric who led the Vatican for more than 25 years
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DIFFICULT CHILDHOOD
Pope John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. His schoolteacher mother died when he was 8; an infant sister passed away before he was born; and an older brother succumbed to scarlet fever. His father was a tailor who served in the Polish military. Karol Sr. "tried to develop the same discipline in his son that he instilled in his soldiers," said a childhood friend of the Pope's.
