‘John Paul II, the Polish-born pope whose strong-willed activist papacy helped unravel the Soviet Union and redefined the office’s relationship to the world as he led the billion-member Catholic Church, died Saturday (April 2) at the age of 84.

Pope John Paul II, Leader of World’s 1 Billion Roman Catholics, Is Dead at 84

John Paul’s death ended a pontificate of more than a quarter century. He was the longest-serving pope of the 20th century and the third-longest in history after St. Peter and Pope Pius IX.

John Paul died at about 9:37 p.m. (2:37 EST).

The pope, ailing from Parkinson’s disease and rapidly declining health in his last week, succumbed to heart and kidney failure after a bacterial infection weakened his body. His fate seemed sealed when aides administered the Sacrament of Anointing, or last rites, on Thursday (March 31)….’

Read more at Religion News Service Pope Obituary

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