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Events on Saturday 2 April 2005 2
1920 – 2005Pope John Paul IIKarol WojtyłaThe first Polish Pope, whose 1979 visit to Poland helped spark the movement that ended Communism.
2005Pope John Paul II diesLongest-serving modern pope, age 84Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, aged 84, after 26 years as pope. His pontificate was one of the most influential of the 20th century, playing a key role in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.