Pope John Paul I had the shortest pontifical reign of the 20th century, dying of a heart attack 34 days after being elected. John Paul's health was never good. In fact, he was baptized the day of his birth because his parents thought that he would not live. He was the first pope to take a double name, christening himself for the sake of continuity after his two predecessors John XXIII and Paul VI, and it is likely that this change to the traditional papal name will be the only thing for which he will be remembered.

Prior to becoming pope, John Paul led a quiet life of service to his Church. He attended the Second Vatican Council, but was never vocal about Church politics. He announced his intentions to follow through on Second Vatican's recommendations upon becoming pope, but died before this could be put into action. He served as Vicar-general to the town of Belluno, Italy, before being made a bishop by Pope John XXIII. The highlight of his career prior to 1978 was most likely that of John XXIII personally consecrating him when he became a bishop. Shortly thereafter he became Patriarch of Venice, where he stayed until 1978.
Climb to Fame
Pope for 34 days in 1978
Work History
(1978) Elected Pope

(1973) Made a cardinal

(1972-1975) Vice President of the Italian Bishops Conference

(1969) Patriarch of Venice, Italy

(1962-1965) Attended the Second Vatican Council

(1958) Bishop of Vittorio Veneto, Italy (consecrated by John XXIII personally)

(1954) Vicar general, Belluno, Italy

(1937-1947) Vice-rector, Gregorian Seminary, Belluno, Italy

(1935) Curate, Agordo, Italy. Also Instructor of religion, Technical Institute for Miners, Agordo, Itlay.

(1935) Ordained as a priest and made curate of the parish of Canale d'Agordo, italy.

(1934) Ordained as a sub-deacon

For Lord Acton to be remembered merely for a casual observation he made in a letter - the often misquoted "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," is hardly fair to the man considered in his lifetime to be one of England's most learned men. A Catholic nobleman born into a cosmopolitan family - Acton spoke German, French and Italian as easily as he spoke English - he was a historian, a philosopher, and a member of the British House of Parliament.

Acton's religion shaped his life. Cambridge refused him entry because he was Catholic, a snub that was to some extent remedied toward the end of his life, when he was invited to serve there as Regius Professor of Modern History. In 1869, he traveled to Rome to attend the Vatican Council, where he argued unsuccessfully against the notion of papal infallibility. The decisions of the council soured him toward Rome, but he continued to attend mass, and took last communion shortly before his death.

As a historian, Acton produced a copious amount of essays and lectures, often dealing with his favorite topics - the notions of freedom and liberty, and how they often conflicted with the ruling classes. He was well-known for scathing comments much like the "absolute power" quotation.
Climb to Fame
Considered one of the most learned men of the Victorian Era.
Work History
(1895) Regius Professor of Modern History, Cambridge, England. Edits the Cambridge Modern History.

(1892-1895) Lord in Waiting for Queen Victoria.

(1880-1885) Advisor, Prime Minister Gladstone. Advocates Irish home rule.

(1869-1870) Travels to Rome to oppose the doctrine of papal infallibility put forward at the Vatican Council.

(1869) Prime Minister Gladstone makes Acton a Baron.

(1865-1866) Member of parliament for Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England.

(1859-1865) Member of parliament for Carlow, Ireland.

(1958-1862) Co-owner, contributor, Catholic Ramble.

(1853) Travels to the United States of America.

(1850) Begins studies at the University of Munich, where he is mentored by Ignaz von Döllinger, a renowned church historian.
Awards
Lord Acton has also won numerous Awards

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, South Africa, on October 7, 1931. Unable to enter medical school for financial reasons, he instead went into teaching. When South African policies on teaching blacks severely restricted the vocational curriculum (authorities explaining that “manual labor” did not need so extensive an education), Tutu resigned and instead entered the Anglican priesthood. His training for this took him to England and away from apartheid for the first time in his life.

Upon returning to South Africa, Tutu became increasingly involved in the anti-apartheid movement, his influence growing as he rose through the priesthood. At a time of great anger, Tutu never failed to offer a calming voice that denounced violence and called for interracial harmony. Eventually, he rose to the position of Bishop of Johannesburg, and from there to Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986. Ten years later, after having seen apartheid crumble, he resigned the position and is presently the Robert W. Woodruff Visiting Professor of Theology at the Candler School of Theology, Emory university.

A dynamic speaker, Archbishop Tutu’s fight against apartheid often set him at odds with the authorities, and his moderate voice sometimes displeased anti-apartheid activists, although their displeasure was almost always tinged with respect and admiration for the man. His efforts to bring international attention to apartheid brought a good deal of external pressure on the South African government.
Work History
Robert W. Woodruff Visiting Professor of Theology, Candler School of Theology, Emory university; 1988--: chancellor, University of the Western Cape; 1986-1996: archbishop of Cape Town; 1985-1986: bishop of Johannesburg; 1978-1985: general secretary, South African Council of Churches (SACC); 1976-1978: bishop of Lesotho; 1975-1976: dean of Johannesburg; 1972-1975: associate director, World Council of Churches' Theological Education Fund (TEF), England, and curate, St. Augustine's Church, England; 1970-1972: lecturer, University of Lesotho, Botswana, and Swaziland; 1967-1968: lecturer, Federal Theological Seminary, Alice, Cape Province; 1965-1966: curate, St. Mary's, Bletchingley, Surrey; 1962-1965: priest, St. Philip's Church, Alberton and curate, St. Alban's Church, Golders Green, London; 1960: ordained as Anglican priest; 1960-1961: curate, St. Alban's Church, Benoni, Johannesburg; 1956-1957: teacher, Muncieville High School, Krugersdorp.
Affiliations
"Was the head of South Africa's Truth And Reconciliation Commission, which investigated apartheid crimes. The Commission made its final report in fall 1998."
Awards
Desmond Tutu has also won numerous Awards

While many Westerners may not know the name Ofra Haza, they have probably heard her voice. The Israeli singer has been sampled on numerous tracks by artists captivated by a voice described as being ethereal and haunting. She provided the singing voice for Moses' mother in Dreamworks' 1998 animated movie The Prince of Egypt, and enjoyed international success in the late 1980s with her albums Shaday and Desert Winds.

The child of immigrant Yemenites, Haza grew up in the Tel Aviv suburb of Hatikvah. Her mother, a well-known singer in Yemen, influenced Haza immensely, and the young girl lived in a house filled with singing. By age 12 she performed with the Hatikva Theater group, and continued to associate with the group until she turned eighteen, when she served her mandatory term in the Israeli military.

Upon leaving the military, Haza embarked on a solo career that earned her national fame in Israel. Her mixture of Yemenite folk-songs and contemporary pop was popular enough it could be heard playing on both sides of the Israeli/Jordanian border. The western world discovered her with her 1989 hit album Shaday, and she enjoyed a loyal international following.

On February 23, 2000, Haza lost a two-week battle against what her doctor described as "massive organ failure." Her funeral was attended by thousands, including Israeli heads of State. Among the mourners was Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Climb to Fame
Ofra Haza was Israel's first truely international pop singer, who blended traditional Yemeite folk-songs with contemporary pop.
Work History
(1994) Performs at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway for Israeli Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin.

(1991) Participates in the Artists of the World For Peace in the World video of John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance.

(1989) Shaday sells one million copies world-wide.

(1988) Appears in a remix of Paid in Full on the Colors soundtrack.

(02/03/1987) Survives a Cessna aircraft crash on the Israeli/Jordanian border.

(1985) Releases first international album, Yemenite Songs.

(1969-1975) Discovered at age 12 by manager Bezalel Aloni, Haza performs in his Hatikva Theater group until beginning her own solo career.
Awards
Ofra Haza has also won numerous Awards

Work History
Foreign Minister of Turkey

Work History
Head of IRA

When George Carey, Bishop of Bath and Wells, was enthroned as the Archbishop of Canterbury, many Anglicans were surprised. The position had traditionally been given to men of high social standing who have studied in Britain’s finest schools. Carey hardly fit the bill. Born in Bow, London, the son of a hospital porter, Carey left school when he was fifteen to become a clerk at the London Electricity Board, a position to which he returned after a stint as a Royal Air Force wireless operator. He did not even attend church until he was seventeen. Such an unorthodox a choice was generally seen as an attempt to breathe new life into a church that was steadily losing congregation members.

Carey himself is a complex individual. He may well have been given his post because of his conservative views, but he is capable of decidedly liberal acts. He is a staunch environmentalist, and has raised over $900,000 for inner city aid. He supports the ordination of women as priests (a view that, while adopted by the American Episcopalian Church some time ago, still meets strong opposition from some members of the Church of England). He will most likely be a force in the Anglican church for some time to come, as he is not required to retire until 2006.
Work History
(1991) Becomes 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury

(1987-1991) Bishop of Bath and Wells

(1982-1987) Principal of Trinity College, Stoke Hill, Bristol, England.

(1975-1982) St. Nicholas' Church, Durham, vicar.

(1970-1975) St. John's College, Nottingham, lecturer.

(1966-1970) Oak Hill College, Southgate, lecturer.

(1962-1966) St. Mary's Church, Islington, England, Assistant Curate.

(1962) Ordained Anglican (Church of England) priest

(1962) deacon

(1954-1956) Royal Air Force Wireless Operator.

(1950-1958) Clerk, London Electricity Board.
Affiliations
1991--present: Member of the House of Lords

He has served as an elected member of the General Synod, was appointed a member of the Board for Mission and Unity, subsequently serving as Chairman of its Faith and Order Advisory Group. He was also a member of the Council of the Advisory Council for the Church's Ministry (ACCM). He has served as a member of the Theological and Religious Studies Board of the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA). President of the Anglican Communion.

Dorothy day has been credited with creating the Catholic left in America, a claim which certainly seems to have validity. In her youth, Day was an advocate, at least temporarily, of Communism and Socialism. She was a dedicated pacifist and gravely concerned about the plight of the homeless. When she converted to Catholicism at age 30, she merged her social activism with a deep and sincere love of the Church that found its expression in the Catholic Worker movement.

As a young woman, Day led an adventurous lifestyle. Before her conversion, she had been arrested for protesting at a suffragette gathering outside the White House, had an abortion at the insistence of a lover who then left her anyway, made friends with such thinkers as Eugene O’Neill, married and traveled across Europe, divorced, and then had a daughter with a common-law husband who shared her social activism but not her religious views.

After converting, Day co-founded The Catholic Worker, a social-religious newspaper that still sells for a penny. From this beginning she began to establish “houses of hospitality” for the needy and homeless. She was a steadfast pacifist who, in her lifetime, protested America’s involvement in several wars, and who was arrested several times for protesting New York’s annual civil defense drills throughout the 1950s.
Work History
"Since World war Two, Day was involved in a series of causes. There are now more than 125 Catholic Worker houses and farming communes in the United States and seven other countries.

1935; Established a house of hospitality in New York City to aid the needy. 40 such houses were available across America by the start of World War Two. 1932: Met Peter Maurin. Together they began to publish The Catholic Worker, a newspaper day was able to use to further her need for social justice. The paper's major topics were pacifism and poverty. Vocal pacifist during World war One. 1924: Bought a beach cottage on Staten Island using money from the sale of movie rights for her novel, The Eleventh Virgin 1918: Signed up for a nurse's training program in Brooklyn. She studied for a year before returning to her writing.

1917: Arrested as a Communist and radical during a woman's suffrage demonstration. 1916: Took a job with The Call, a socialist paper, and later with Masses, a Communist paper that was suppressed in 1917. "
Awards
Dorothy Day has also won numerous Awards

Work History
Panama -- (13 Nov. 1945)