Pope John Paul II (Karol Jozef Wojtyla) has died after a 26-year pontificate that helped shape global politics and inspired millions of Christians the world over. World leaders, religious chiefs and ordinary people have met the news of the Pope’s passing with grief and tributes to his life’s work.

The Holy See says Pope John Paul II died at 5:37am Australian Eastern Standard Time following heart failure. He was 84. The news was announced to the thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square and was met with long applause, an Italian sign of respect.

The Vatican says John Paul’s body will be taken to St Peter’s Basilica tomorrow afternoon. His body will lie in state for three days of public viewing. According to long-standing tradition, the mourning rites will last nine days and then the Pope’s body will be laid to rest in the crypt underneath St Peter’s Basilica.

The ABC has a special in-depth feature which can be viewed at http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/pope/

You can also watch an ABC News summary of Pope John Paul’s life work (5 mins approx) in Windows Media Player format:

The life of Pope John Paul II: Broadband
The life of Pope John Paul II: Dial-Up

Audio, modified text & images Copyright © 2005, Australian Broadcasting Corporation.