When Karol Wojtyla was elected in 1978, he became the first non-Italian pope in four-and-a-half centuries.

He quickly became the most-widely travelled pope in history, visiting almost every corner of the Catholic world.

John Paul II took the papacy out to the people like never before, and he became instantly recognisable around the globe.

His papacy was shaped by his background. As a young priest in Poland, he saw the Nazi persecution at first hand. Then as the Archbishop of Krakow, he faced the challenge of running a Catholic Church in a communist state.

His election as pope is seen by historians as a factor in the subsequent collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

John Paul II upheld the traditional teachings of the Church, opposing birth control and abortion, and maintaining the celibacy of the priesthood.

He also reached out to other faiths, looking for reconciliation after centuries of hostility and suspicion.