X-Nico

65 unusual facts about Pope John Paul II


Aaron Katersky

He is a first-hand witness to some of the most significant world events of the last decade, including the Iraq War, the death of Pope John Paul II in Rome and the revolution in Egypt.

Aglona

In 1980 the Church celebrated its 200th anniversary and was officially given the status of a basilica by Pope John Paul II.

Aida Fariscal

Her decision to investigate the fire possibly saved thousands of lives, including possibly that of Pope John Paul II.

Bernhard Fritsch

In 1999, Fritsch presented Pope John Paul II with a $50,000 donation for the Papal Council Cor Unum, the coordinating body for all the Catholic Church’s charitable institutions.

Boris Brott

In 2000, he received international attention when he conducted the historic first performance of Bernstein's Mass in Vatican City for an audience which included the late Pope John Paul II.

Burton P. C. Hall

Hall was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2001, and in 2003 he was appointed a Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester (KSS) by Pope John Paul II.

Cape Froward

On the cape's hill was built a large metallic cross (Cruz de los Mares, Cross of the Seas) in honor to John Paul II Pope's visit to Chile, back in 1987, it was first built in 1913, and several times in between due to the harsh weather.

Čataj

These artworks have been sold all over the world, and one of them is said to have served as the late Pope John Paul II's table cloth.

Cherry Creek State Park

On August 15, 1993, Cherry Creek State Park was the location for the papal mass of the 8th World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II.

Church of St. George, Istanbul

Some of the bones of these two saints, which were looted from Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, were returned to the Church of St George by Pope John Paul II in 2004.

Clive Tyldesley

Throughout his time he also commentated on other events such as Rugby League, the Grand National and even the Pope John Paul II's visit to Liverpool.

Color Esperanza

In 2003, the song was performed specially by Torres for the Pope John Paul II in Cuatro Vientos Airport in Madrid, Spain by the festival of the Youth, in order to welcome the Pope.

Cremisan Valley

The main monastery, housed in a building featuring stone floors, thick walls and high arched ceilings, is decorated with pictures of Pope John Paul II and Don Bosco.

Daniel Seaman

Seaman received the Israel Outstanding Civil Service Award in 2000 for coordinating the international press coverage of Pope John Paul II's visit to the Holy Land in March 2000.

Eileen Wu

Eileen has gone on to report on topics such as the Republican National Convention and the death of Pope John Paul II.

Elvin Bale

Elvin performed in the Vatican for Pope John Paul II, under helicopters in the French Alps, and at African soccer stadiums.

Estádio Couto Pereira

The general stadium's attendance record was set on August 5, 1980, when 70,000 people came to see the Pope John Paul II.

Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci

On December 25, 1988, after years of denying that they had the bodies of the two crew members, Gaddafi offered to release the body of Lorence to his family through Pope John Paul II.

Fort Simpson

Pope John Paul II attempted to visit the community in September 1984 as part of his Canadian tour, but was prevented from landing due to fog; in an address over the radio from Yellowknife, he promised to visit in the future.

Gabriele Paolini

On March 5, 1995, Paolini personally disguised a condom as a request in a paper and gave it to Pope John Paul II at a church in Rome.

Georgina Island

On a neighbouring island Pope John Paul II stayed on Strawberry Island for four days just before World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto.

Giacomo Battiato

He directed two fiction dedicated at Pope John Paul II, Karol: A Man Who Became Pope (Karol, un uomo diventato Papa, 2005) and Karol: The Pope, The Man (Karol, un papa rimasto uomo, 2006)

Giovanni Angelo Becciu

On 15 October 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Angola, at the same time as per custom elevating him to the Titular Archbishop of Roselle.

Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula

The feature is named after Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) for his contribution to world peace and understanding among people.

Izamal

Pope John Paul II visited Izamal in August 1993, where he performed a mass for the blacks and presented the statue of the Virgin with a silver crown.

Jacqueline Milczarek

She has earned two RTNDA Awards for coverage of Pope John Paul's visit to Canada during the World Youth Day in 2002 as well as for a story about a man who recovered from a coma.

James Weisgerber

On March 7, 1996, Weisgerber was appointed the fifth Bishop of Saskatoon by Pope John Paul II.

Jennifer Paige

Paige toured the world, sang for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, was nominated for Best New Artist and performed at the World Music Awards, while promoting her music.

John J. Studzinski

Pope John Paul II made Studzinski a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory.

John Paul Stevens High School

In 1987, Pope John Paul II held Mass on the site that Stevens High School was eventually built on.

José Ulises Macías Salcedo

Named bishop for the Diocese of Mexicali by Pope John Paul II, on 16 June 1984, and consecrated on 29 July, in the city of Mexicali, presided over by Apostolic Delegate Archbishop Girolamo Prigione.

Knock, County Mayo

Pope John Paul II, a supporter of devotion to the Virgin Mary, visited Knock in 1979 to commemorate the centenary of the apparition.

Krasiczyn

Adam Stefan Sapieha, a cardinal whom Pope John Paul II described as 'my model', was born in Krasiczyn, in the castle.

Kristiyan Koev

Kristiyan Koev is the only musician who performs Flute solo concert in honour of Charles, Prince of Wales during his diplomatic visit in Italy and the only musician who performs solo concert at the birthday celebration of Pope John Paul II.

Kurt Calleja

Years later he was chosen to sing in the children's choir during the last visit to Malta of his Holiness, Pope John Paul II.

M'banza-Kongo

Pope John Paul II visited the site during his tour of Angola in 1992.

Más Allá

This song was also sung to Pope John Paul II on the celebration of his 50 years of Priesthood.

Miguel Ángel Alba Díaz

Pope John Paul II appointed him the third bishop of the Diocese of La Paz, Baja California Sur on July 16, 2001, and took possession the same year.

New Evangelization Television

Inspired by the call from Pope John Paul II for "New Evangelization" in the media, the channel revamped its image, mission and name on December 8, 2008, becoming New Evangelization Television.

Niegowić

Niegowić was the place of the first appointment of Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II, as parish priest.

Oliver Plunkett

(He has since been followed by 17 other Irish martyrs who were beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1992. Among them were Archbishop Dermot O'Hurley, Margaret Ball, and the Wexford Martyrs.)

Oliver, Edmonton

Originally St. Joseph's Cathedral, the name was changed when Pope John Paul II visited Edmonton during his visit to Canada in 1984.

Paranoimia

The 7" single features a monologue about Max Headroom being scared and unable to sleep (hence "Paranoimia", a portmanteau of "paranoia" and "insomnia"). The 12" has a completely different vocal with Headroom as a master of ceremonies, talking about the music and introducing the band (which he claims comprises Peter O'Toole, Martina Navratilova, Cher and the Pope).

Philippine presidential election and referendum, 1981

The lifting of martial law was speculated due to the election of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, of whom Marcos wanted to have close relationship with, and the arrival of Pope John Paul II in the country.

Płonkowo

The church contains the remains of Marian Skrzypczak, who was shot in Płonkowo in 1939 by Hitler youth, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1999.

Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli

Pope John Paul II was presented the official Jubilee Bell in 2000 that is hung in St. Peters Square.

Pope John Paul II's relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church

Resistance from the Russian Orthodox Church and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, however, meant the visit never happened.

Raymund Schwager

He especially valued Pope John Paul II's activities in this respect: his travels and encounters with other religious leaders, his prayer meetings in Assisi and his confession of guilt for the church on the First Sunday of Lent in 2000.

Renée Montagne

Montagne traveled to Rome to cover the funeral of Pope John Paul II for NPR's Morning Edition in 2005.

Roman Catholicism in Antigua and Barbuda

The Apostolic Nuncio of Antigua and Barbuda was established on December 15, 1986 with the Papal brief Ut publica et Ecclesiae of Pope John Paul II.

Roman Catholicism in the Gambia

In 1992 Pope John Paul II visited Gambia and gave further impetus to the interest in Christian-Muslim relations within the Catholic community.

Russian icons

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Russian icons have been repatriated via direct purchase by Russian museums, private Russian collectors, or as was the case of Pope John Paul II giving an 18th-century copy of the famous Our Lady of Kazan icon to the Russian Orthodox Church, returned to Russia in good faith.

San Giovanni Rotondo

The nearby Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel is also the site of Catholic pilgrimages and was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1987.

Sergio Pagano

He was appointed Vice-Prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives by Pope John Paul II on 30 January 1995, and a few days later he was appointed Vice-Director of the Vatican School of Paleography, Diplomatics and Archives Administration.

St Monica's High School

During Pope John Paul II's visit to the United Kingdom in 1982 the school (St Peter's RC High School at the time) was used as the base for local authorities and members of the Pope's entourage.

St. Dominic's Church, Bahawalpur

Pope John Paul II sent a Special Envoy, Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, to show his concern for the welfare of all the people and offering his prayers for peace in this region.

St. Mary's Cathedral, Punalur

Punalur Diocese was separated from the Diocese of Quilon (Kollam) and created into a separate unit by the Bull “Verba Christ” of Pope John Paul II, issued on 21 December 1985.

Steve Gaisford

Steve Gaisford has covered many breaking news stories including The Asian Tsunami, The Death of Pope John Paul II and The Madrid train bombings and from the world of sport including the live media circus that was David Beckham signing for Real Madrid.

Thomas Joseph Connolly

Upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Connolly submitted his letter of resignation to Pope John Paul II in July 1997.

Un Mundo Diferente

The song became his most popular song since was performed specially for Juan Pablo II.

Vatican Television Center

Created in 1983 by Pope John Paul II, the Vatican Television Center is, since November 1996, an institution legally associated with the Vatican.

Veteran Pakistani Roman Catholic Priests

On 24 Apr 2001 he was appointed Archbishop of Lahore by Pope John Paul II.

Virginia Romero

The friars gave the tile to Cardinal Levada as a parting gift, and he said that he would give it to Pope Benedict XVI because Our Lady of Czestochowa was the patron saint of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

Walter Jagiello

The highlight of Jagiello's career was performing for Pope John Paul II in 1984, who requested Wally to continue playing after his initial song, "God Bless Our Polish Pope".

Wanda Tomczykowska

St. Mary’s Cathedral boasts a reproduction of The Black Madonna of Czestochowa at which Pope John Paul II said Mass during a visit to San Francisco.


Artuz

The place where Jesus appeared is commemorated by a temple now, which Pope John Paul II visited during his visit to Syria in 2000.

Auburn Gresham, Chicago

Auburn Gresham is home to the St. Leo Campus for Veterans, which includes the Catholic Charities' St. Leo's Residence, the Auburn Gresham Community Based Outpatient Clinic, the St. Leo's Veteran's Garden, and the Pope John Paul II Residence.

Bhai Baljeet Singh

The magic of this group extended to United States of America(U.S.A) in 2006 and they performed in Washington DC in an Interfaith concert at Pope John Paul Hall and at the White House, also they’ve spread their wings to many different cities in USA,Life changed for them when in 2007 they performed for The Sikh Gurudwara, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Brendan Shine

The song stayed in the Top 50 for over 40 weeks and Shine performed the song to Pope John Paul II when the Pope visited Ireland.

Cathedral of Chihuahua

Directly opposite, on the south side, inside the Chapel of Christ of Mapimí, is the tomb of St Peter of Jesus Maldonado, a priest and martyr who was ordained in the Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick in El Paso, Texas, and canonised by Pope John Paul II in 2000.

Cæremoniale Episcoporum

In line with the renewal ordered by the Second Vatican Council, a fully revised edition in a single volume was issued by Pope John Paul II in 1984, replacing the earlier editions.

Corcovado Rack Railway

The line has been ridden by many famous people, including Pope Pius XII, Pope John Paul II, Alberto Santos-Dumont, Albert Einstein and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Francisco San Diego

Pope John Paul II appointed San Diego as first bishop of Pasig in 2003.

Gerard de Korte

Pope John Paul II appointed Gerard de Korte as auxiliarty bishop of the Archdiocese of Utrecht on 11 April 2001 and as titular bishop of Caesarea in Mauritania.

Good News in Hard Times

Later that year, on December 16, they appeared before Pope John Paul II at the Christmas at the Vatican II concert in Rome.

Iveta Apkalna

In 1993 she was the official organist in service at Aglona basilica (Latvia) during the visit of Pope John Paul II.

Kazan Kremlin

On July 21, 2005, the feast day of the holy icon "Theotokos of Kazan", in the presence of the crowd of 10,000 pilgrims, Patriarch Alexius II and Mintimer Shaeymiev placed at the newly restored Annunciation Cathedral the holiest copy of the long-lost icon, which had been returned to Russia by Pope John Paul II shortly before his death.

La bottega dell'orefice

La bottega dell'orefice is a 1989 film based on The Jeweler's Shop, a play written by Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) and scripted by Jeff Andrus, starring Burt Lancaster and directed by Michael Anderson.

Luis Fernando Figari

In 2002, Pope John Paul II named Figari as Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

Miguel Ángel Alba Díaz

He was appointed bishop for the Diocese of Fessei and auxiliar bishop for the Archdiocese of Oaxaca by Pope John Paul II on June 10, 1995, and consecrated on July 25, in a ceremony presided over by Archbishop Adolfo Antonio Suárez Rivera.

Miri Nishri

The 120 responses she received from people around the world (including Yoko Ono, Avi Mograbi, the Dalai Lama and the Pope) were shown at an exhibition at Ha'Kibbutz Israeli Art Gallery.

Nikolaus Gross

Nikolaus Gross (German:Groß) (30 September 1898 – 23 January 1945) was a German resistance fighter and labor union leader in the time of the Third Reich who was later beatified by Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on 7 October 2001.

Olivier Clément

Olivier Clément has been the interlocutor of several great spiritual profiles of his time - Patriarch Athenagoras, Pope John Paul II, Romanian priest and theologian Dumitru Staniloae, Archimandrite Sophrony of the Maldon Monastery (Great Britain), Brother Roger of Taizé, Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Sant'Egidio community - all of whom he formed a relationship of trust and friendship with.

Paciano Aniceto

His Principal Consecrator was His Holiness Pope John Paul II and his Principal Co-Consecrators were their Eminences Duraisamy Simon Cardinal Lourdusamy and Eduardo Cardinal Martinez Somalo.

Paolo Pellegrin

In the same year he covered the aftermath of the Tsunami and hurricane Katrina and won two World Press Photo awards, one for his work on the funeral of Pope John Paul II, and another for the reportage on the backstage of fashion shows in NYC.

Paul Zoungrana

Zoungrana was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the conclaves of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I and John Paul II respectively.

Pope John Paul II's relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church

In 1998, he beatified Aloysius Stepinac, the Croatian war-time Archbishop of Zagreb, a move seen negatively by those who believe that he was an active collaborator with the Ustaše fascist regime, which committed genocide against Serbs as well as Jews.

Pope John Paul II's visits to Nicaragua

Consequently, the Sandinistas made a tremendous effort to encourage Nicaraguans to attend the two papal masses that were held in León and Managua.

Rrok Mirdita

On December 25, 1992, aged 53, he was appointed the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës and ordained on April 25, 1993 by Pope John Paul II and Cardinals Camillo Ruini and Jozef Tomko, along with three other bishops (Zef Simoni, Frano Illia and Robert Ashta) during the Pope's pastoral visit to Albania.

Sombrero Vueltiao

This iconic symbol of Colombia has been sported by hundreds of personalities, including Pope John Paul II when he visited Colombia in 1986, and former President of the United States Bill Clinton when he visited Cartagena, Colombia in August 2000.

Stanisław Ryłko

He was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Karol Wojtyła (later Pope John Paul II) on 30 March 1969, in Wawel Cathedral, and then did pastoral work in Poronin until 1971.

Stefan Wyszyński

In the CBS miniseries Pope John Paul II (based upon the life of the Polish pope), Cardinal Wyszyński was portrayed by English actor Christopher Lee.

Thady Coughlan

In October of the same year, he was present at the canonisation of Oliver Plunkett, where he met the then Pope Paul VI and future Pope John Paul II who was bishop of Kraków at the time.

The Green Bible

Before the biblical text, the Green Bible provides an introduction from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and essays from Brian McLaren, Cal DeWitt, Barbara Brown Taylor, Pope John Paul II, Ellen Davis, N. T. Wright, Ellen Bernstein, Matthew Sleeth, James Jones, and Gordon Aeschliman.

Tom 'Diver' Derrick Bridge

But in 2005, in the wake of the death of Pope John Paul II, Mr Rann announced the rail bridge would be named after Saint Mary MacKillop.

Trình Như Khuê

He was the first cardinal to hail from Vietnam, and was also one of the cardinal electors who participated in the conclaves of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I and John Paul II respectively.

U Thant Peace Award

It had been bestowed by The Peace Meditation at the United Nations upon Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Javier Perez de Cuellar, Kurt Waldheim the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Dada J.P. Vaswani, Swami Satchidananda and U Thant’s daughter, Daw Aye Aye Thant.

Vatican Television Center

VTC produced many documentaries during the reigns of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

Wawel Cathedral

Both of these pre-pontificate events were depicted in the first half of the 2005 U.S. TV miniseries, Pope John Paul II in which Cary Elwes played the younger Wojtyla.

World Youth Day 2005

This meeting was decided by the previous pope, John Paul II, during the Toronto World Youth Day of 2002.

Yaky Yosha

In 2000 Yosha directed a feature length documentary, Inherit the Earth, narrated by Liam Neeson, about the preparations for the Pope's historic visit to Israel.