264th Pope of the Catholic Church. Pontificate 1978 - 2005. First Polish pope and first non-Italian pope in 455 years. canonised more saints than all predecessors. travelled extensively, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate.. Second longest known reign after Pius IX (1846–1878); recently beatified by Pope Benedict XVI. He spoke Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Croatian, and Latin as well as his native Polish.