During his 26 years as head of the Roman Catholic Church, John Paul II is credited with helping to bring down communism, energizing young Catholics and bolstering the church presence in the developing world.
The Church will beatify John Paul in Rome Sunday, May 1. The ceremony is an important milestone on the road to Catholic sainthood.
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II blesses the faithful in St. Peter's Square from a Vatican City balcony after he was named Pontiff in 1978 (AP)
Pope John Paul II is shot in St. Peter's Square in 1981 (AP)
Pope John Paul II celebrates mass in New York's Central Park, Oct. 7, 1995
Pope John Paul II is assisted by his secretary, Stanislaw Dzjwisz, in 1995 (AP Photo/Giancarlo)
Pope John Paul II gestures from his vehicle as he tours St. Peter's Square during the weekly general open-air audience at the Vatican, April 1, 1998 (AP)
Pope John Paul II in the Popemobile in 1999 (AP Photo/Leon Algee)
Pope John Paul II greets some of the approximately 6,000 Polish faithful gathered in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican for a special outdoor audience on June 4, 1998, on occasion of the anniversary of his trip to Poland in June ,1997 (AP Photo/Massimo S
Pope John Paul II prays during a Mass in Pelplin, Poland, Sunday, June 6, 1999 (AP Photo/Rudi Blaha)
Pope John Paul II delivers the ''Urbi et Orbi (to the City and to the World) blessing from the central balcony of the main facade of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican , December 25, 1999 (AP Photo/Arturo Mari)
Pope John Paul II and an unidentified baby smile at each other in 2001 (AP Photo/Plinio Lepri)
Pope John Paul II is surrounded by Ukrainian children in 2001 (AP/Efrem Lukatsky)
Cardinals, in red, bishops and dignitaries attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 8, 2005 (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Benedict XVI prays before the tomb of Pope John Paul II in 2011 (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano)
Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, is a French nun whose mysterious cure from Parkinson’s disease led to John Paul’s beatification, 2011 photo (AP Photo/Claude Paris)
A woman selling bread sits next to a stand selling religious items, including a photo showing the late Pope John Paul II, at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, April 28, 2011. Thousands of faithful are expected to begin arriving at the Basilica to
A picture of late Pope John Paul II, is framed by two nuns prior to the start of the Easter mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican, April 24, 2011(AP)