On April 2, 2005, Pope John Paul II died at the age of 84

John Paul II, the Polish pope born Karol Józef Wojtyła, died in 2005 at age 84. He became one of the most influential leaders of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He was one of those who helped build a moral foundation in the modern world.

Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, at age 84. The Polish-born pontiff had the third-longest papal reign in history. The pontiff's reign was the second longest of the modern era of papal papal rule. The Pope died at the age of 84 in 2005.

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter’s Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca (MEH’-met AH’-lee AH’-juh). Click here for more Today in History.