The body of Pope John Paul II lying in state photo: Rex Features

Andrew Chapman looks back at the life of Pope John Paul II, who died on 2 April 2005.

Chapman Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born on 18 May in 1920 in Wadowice, a small town of around 20,000 inhabitants in southern Poland. The town is otherwise largely known for light industry. His father had been an officer in the Habsburg army.

As a young man, he worked in a quarry and chemical factory during the Nazi occupation of Krakow, about 30 miles for his home town. An all-rounder both physically and mentally, he was an athlete and an actor, a playwright and a remarkable linguist, speaking around a dozen languages fluently.

He also taught ethics at Jagiellonian University in Krakow (where Copernicus had studied) and elsewhere, and was ordained a priest in November 1946.

He rose fairly rapidly through the Catholic hierarchy: in 1958 he became auxiliary bishop of Krakow, and then vicar capitular of the same see, then finally archbishop.

He participated in the Second Vatican Council of 1962-5, which encouraged ecumenism and a more vernacular approach to mass. He was appointed a cardinal in 1967 by Pope Paul IV and, on his death in 1978, contributed to the Papal Conclave that elected Pope John Paul I, who himself died after a papal reign of only 33 days.

Wojtyla was elected Pope John II in the second Conclave of 1978 as a compromise candidate, becoming the first non-Italian Pope since the 1520s. At 58, he was also unusually young for the role. Pope John Paul II's reign has been notable for a number of reasons:

• it has been the third longest in history
• he was the first ever pope of Slavic origin
• he has beatified or canonised more people than any previous Pope in history - more than 1300
• he has allegedly travelled across the world more than all previous popes put together
• he was the first pope to visit an Orthodox country (Romania) since the 11th century

Known for his warm relationship with Judaism, dating back to his early years in Poland, Pope John Paul II was also renowned as a theological conservative, particularly on abortion, the ordination of women, and homosexuality. He is known for his wide range of writings on these and other subjects.

• The new Pope