Pope John Paul II laughs during a gathering in St. Peter’s Square with tens of thousands of young people from Rome and the Lazio region, ahead of the 18th World Youth Day celebrations on Palm ...

Some reportedly waited in line for 13 hours to view Pope John Paul II’s body and pray. Wait times Wednesday through Friday for Pope Francis were anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours.

Pope John Paul II remained in office until his death in 2005. He made more visits to the U.S., but did not make another trip to Chicago after that 1979 visit.

St. John Paul II’s birthday is May 18; he was born on this day in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. When he was elected to the papacy in 1978, he became the first non-Italian to be elected as the Holy ...

JOHN PAUL: The papacy’s first composite name was chosen by Cardinal Albino Luciani in 1978 to honor Pope John XXIII, who opened the Vatican Council II process that reformed the Catholic Church ...

Relive Pope John Paul II’s 1987 visit to Miami. Storms, a blessing under the rain at Tamiami Park, and memories that made history.

As for Pope Francis, he was preceded by Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) and Pope Benedict XVI (2005-13). The conclave filled by those two “conservative” popes selected the “liberal” Francis.

Jan. 27, 2010— -- Pope John Paul II, whose world travels helped modernize the papacy, sometimes practiced ancient rituals of self-flagellation, including hitting himself with a belt that he ...

John Paul II was well known for travelling, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. But it was just a year into his time as pope that John Paul II made his first trip to the United States ...