A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' Catholic Legends series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the lives of the Church's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. The 20th century had no shortage of influential leaders, both good and bad. But while dictators, generals, and presidents came and went, the last quarter of the 20th century could rely on one thing: the papacy of Blessed Pope John Paul II. In becoming one of Catholicism's most popular leaders, and one shortly destined for sainthood, John Paul II indeed became one of the most famous and influential men of the 20th century. The first pope in centuries to not hail from Italy, John Paul II was responsible for a global outreach of epic proportions that brought him to over 100 countries, helped end communism in Europe, and brought people of different faiths closer together than ever before. It's often said that nobody in history has been seen and viewed in person by more people, an amazing feat for a man of humble origins born in Poland before World War II, a place that continues to especially venerate him today.