Take a look back at Pope John Paul’s almost 30 years as pope. You can find information on his important speeches to and in the United States, his encyclicals, information on the assassination attempt and his changes to the Rosary.
The United States
The assassination attempt
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Presidents & The pope
Pope John Paul met often with U.S. Presidents.
 
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On May 13, 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul in St. Peter’s Square. The shooting happened at 5:21 p.m. Rome time or 10:21 a.m. local time. The pope was 61 at the time.
It happened in 1981, as the pope waved to a cheering crowd in St. Peter's Square from his white jeep. A 23-year-old Turk, Mehmet Ali Agca, shot him twice. One bullet entered John Paul's abdomen, and a second hit one of his fingers. The abdominal wound was a serious one, and the pope spent three weeks in the hospital. Within days of the shooting, John Paul publicly forgave his attacker. He would later visit him in prison. Agca spent nearly 20 years in prison in Italy. He was then extradited to Turkey, where he's serving 17 years for the murder of a Turkish newspaper editor and for a robbery.
The pope believes he survive the attack by the intercession of the Virgin Mary.
The pope then visited the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima to thank Mary for her intercession. The third part of the secret given by the Lady of Fatima to the children dealt with the assassination attempt.
25 years as pope
Life issues
Pope John Paul II will be remembered as a defender of life. He was outspoken in calling for an end to abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty.
As part of his pastoral visit to America in 1999, Pope John Paul II visited Mexico City and St. Louis in the United States. During this trip the pope made several pleas for an end to the death penalty and abortion. He also made remarks about racism.
World Youth Day
In 1986, Pope John Paul II began meeting with the youth of the world. The first World Youth Day was held in Rome. He also visited Denver and Toronto for the special day, usually held on Palm Sunday.
Austin Diocese: Reaching out to the youth
Encyclicals
Encyclicals are letters drafted by the pope and sent to the bishops of either a specific region or the world. They are considered some of the strongest documents issued by a pope.
03/04/79 Redemptor Hominis (The Redeemer of Man)
11/30/80 Dives in Misericordia (On the Mercy of God)
09/14/81 Laborem Exercens (On Human Work)
06/02/85 Slavorum Apostoli (On Sts. Cyril and Methodius)
03/25/87 Redemptoris Mater (Mother of the Redeemer)
12/30/87 Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (On Social Concerns)
12/07/90 Redemptoris Missio (On the Permanent Validity of the Church’s Missionary Mandate)
05/01/91 Centesimus Annus (On the 100th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum - On Capitol and Labor; On Catholic social teaching)
08/06/93 Veritatis Splendor (Regarding Certain Fundamental Questions of the Church’s Moral Teaching)
03/25/95 Evangelium Vitae (On the Value and Inviolability of Human Life)
05/25/95 Ut Unum Sint (That They May Be One)
05/18/96 Dominum et Vivificantem (Lord and Giver of Life)
09/14/98 Fides et Ratio (On the Relationship Between Faith and Reason)
04/17/03 Ecclesia de Eucharistia (On the Eucharist and its Relationship to the Church)
Papal Encyclicals Online is a comprehensive archive of papal documents beginning with Pope Honorius III in 1216.
Saints
Pope John Paul II beatified more people and canonized more saints that any pope in history. Beatification is the first step to becoming a saint. Canonization is the declaration that the person is sainted.
The following information is from the Catholic Almanac provided by OurSundayVisitor.com.
Changing the Rosary
On Oct 16, 2002, in the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginia Mariae, the pope created the Luminous Mysteries or Mysteries of Light, a new set of mysteries to be prayed with the Rosary’s traditional Sorrowful, Glorious and Joyful Mysteries. Adding the mysteries changed centuries of tradition.
