Text Courtesy: News site of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India

Pope John Paul II died on Saturday at 2137 local time, a statement issued by the Vatican said.

The funeral is slated to take place on Wednesday, but details are yet to be finalised, the Vatican said.

He was the first non-Italian to head the Catholic Church since 1522.

Pope John Paul was born on May 18, 1920 to Karol Wojtyla, a lieutenant in the Polish army and Emilia Kaczorowska, a schoolteacher of Lithuanian descent.

Friends affectionately called him 'lolek', but his Christian name was Karol Jozef Wojtyla. He spent his early years with his parents and elder brother Edmund in Wadowice.

This picture taken in September 2004 shows Pope John Paul II waving to a group of Spanish pilgrims who gathered in the courtyard of his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, during a special audience.

Photograph: GIULIO NAPOLITANO/AFP/Getty Images

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