Pope Paul VI was the pontiff of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978. He was the first pope to travel outside of Italy in over a century, visiting six continents during his papacy. He was also the first pope to visit the Holy Land and the first to visit the United States. He is remembered for his encyclical Humanae Vitae, which reaffirmed the Church's traditional teaching on contraception, and for his efforts to improve relations with other religions.