Pope John Paul II Timeline of Events

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Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX who served 31 years, has reigned longer...

Timeline of Events

1978

10.16.1978

Pope John Paul II is elected after the October 1978 Papal conclave.

11.12.1978

As Bishop of Rome Pope John Paul II takes possession of his Cathedral Church, the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

1979

6.2.1979

Pope John Paul II first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.

9.29.1979

Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to set foot on Irish soil with his pastoral visit to the Republic of Ireland.

1981

5.13.1981

Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.

1982

5.12.1982

During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, security guards overpower Juan Fernandez Krohn before he can attack Pope John Paul II with a bayonet. Krohn, an ultraconservative Spanish priest opposed to the Vatican II reforms, believed that the Pope had to be killed for being an "agent of Moscow".

1984

5.6.1984

103 Korean Martyrs are canonized by Pope John Paul II in Seoul

1987

5.1.1987

Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.

1998

1.25.1998

During a historic visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II demands the release of political prisoners and political reforms while condemning US attempts to isolate the country.

3.16.1998

Pope John Paul II asks God for forgiveness for the inactivity and silence of some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust.

1999

5.7.1999

Pope John Paul II travels to Romania becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.

2001

6.10.2001

Pope John Paul II canonizes Lebanon's first female saint, Saint Rafqa.

2003

10.19.2003

Mother Teresa is beatified by Pope John Paul II.

2004

11.27.2004

Pope John Paul II returns the relics of Saint John Chrysostom to the Eastern Orthodox Church.

2006

1.12.2006

Turkey releases Mehmet Ali Ağca from jail after he served 25 years for shooting Pope John Paul II.