Pope John Paul II: Saint Among Men

He was not expected to become pope.

A Pole, he was a dark horse candidate, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.

In fact, he remained pope for 26 years, the third longest papacy in history: Poignantly his predecessor had one of the shortest terms on record, only 33 days. Pope John Paul II unexpectedly ascended to the Vatican when, John Paul I died of a heart attack shortly after assuming office.