He was born as Karol Wojtyla in Poland in May of 1920. At the age of 22, Karol entered an underground seminary in Krakow. It was 1942 and Poland was occupied by Germany and had concentration camps in Krakow. It wasn't until 1946, after the war, that Wojtyla was ordained as a priest. Pope John Paull II became a bishop twelve years later in 1958 and in 1962, he became the archbishop of Krakow. He was promoted to cardinal in 1967. In 1978, he was elected Pope and took the name of John Paul II. In his 26+ years on the throne, he mended relations with the Jews and apologized publicly for the many crimes the Catholic Church committed over the years. Despite Pope John Paull II's willingness to embrace some groups of people, he would not embrace them all. He strongly opposed same sex marriage and homosexuality and he did not support equal rights for women. Pope John Paul II believed the role of women should be less than of man.
