‘Pope John Paul saw Asia - with its tens of thousands of annual conversions to the Catholic church - as fertile ground for evangelization.
He once referred to the continent as “a church that is still being born.”
The pope made at least a dozen trips to Asian nations during his 26-year papacy.’
Read more at Pope Saw […]
The New Zealand Herald has a helpful timeline of Pope John Paul’s life.
‘May 13, 1981: Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca shoots and severely wounds the Pope in St Peter’s Square. The bullets hit his stomach and hand but miss vital organs.
Emergency surgery at a Rome hospital saves his life but he needs months to […]
‘The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) has referred to Pope John Paul II’s landmark 1986 speech to indigenous Australians as a source of inspiration at a time when setbacks in reconciliation demand “rebirth”.
NATSIEC Executive Secretary Graeme Mundine said the Pope spoke of Indigenous experience being like that of a tree in […]
‘There have been unconfirmed reports over the years that the pope has prepared a resignation letter to be used in case he becomes unable to carry on
Pope John Paul was once known as the great communicator. But after Thursday’s throat operation, the Catholic Church and the world face the prospect of a Pontiff who […]
‘As Pope John Paul II recovers from a tracheotomy during his second visit to the hospital this month, Roman Catholics around the world pray for the increasingly frail 84-year-old pope and ponder the church’s future without its long-term leader. Spiritual chief to the world’s estimated 1 billion Catholics since 1978, John Paul II is the […]
‘After being shot in St. Peter’s Square in 1981, Pope John Paul II was said to beseech the Virgin Mary for strength and later credited her for “guiding” the bullet from making a fatal strike.
In a Rome hospital this week, the pontiff wrote a post-surgery message that ended with his Latin motto dedicated to Mary, […]