Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
There have been 266 popes in history, the vast majority of whom have hailed from Italy. Indeed, when Karol Józef Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II in 1978, he was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI died in 1523 — a span of 455 years. As the Vatican is a microstate surrounded by Rome, Italy’s capital city, it’s unsurprising that the vast majority of popes have been Italian. That includes John Paul II’s predecessor John Paul I, who served for just 33 days before his death on September 28, 1978, making that year the first since 1605 to have three popes in one year.
Born in Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, 1920, John Paul II was among the youngest popes in history. Elected at the age of 58, he was also the third-longest-reigning pope: His 27-year tenure was bested only by St. Peter (34 years) and Pius IX (31 years). He was also something of a trendsetter, as both of his successors, Benedict XVI and Francis, weren’t from Italy either. Benedict XVI, born Joseph Alois Ratzinger, was German and took the rare step of resigning in 2013, while Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio) was from Argentina. Pope Francis was also the first pope from the Americas and the first from outside Europe since the eighth century, when Syria’s Gregory III held the papacy.
