Cardinal Karol Wojtyła is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_1978_papal_conclave" id="mwARQ" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="October 1978 papal conclave">elected</a> to the papacy as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II" id="mwARU" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Pope John Paul II">Pope John Paul II</a>, he becomes the first non-Italian pontiff since 1523.