This biographical drama explores the life of Karol Wojtyla -- the man who became John Paul II -- from his boyhood days in Wadowice, Poland through his ascension to the papacy. Along the way, the film shows us the young Karol, serving as an altar boy while living with his widower father. He later went on to work at a brick quarry, where he saw German soldiers abusing his fellow workers and rounding up Jews. And the horrors of Nazism that he witnessed had a tremendous impact on the rest of his life.

Karol decided to become a priest at the age of 22, and the film follows his rise through the Catholic Church's hierarchy and his disagreements with Cardinal Wyszynski and other leaders, as well as his continuing battles with Communists and Nazis.