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 ...

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 ...

Pope John Paul II arrived in the U.S. on Monday, Oct. 1, 1979 — touching down in Boston, and stopping in New York, Philadelphia, and Des Moines before arriving in Chicago on Thursday, Oct. 4.

The first from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope and the first to use a new papal name in a millennium. Pope John Paul II installed Francis as Cardinal, then known as Jorge Bergoglio, in 2001.

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

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 ...

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.

Pope John Paul II was the most-traveled pope in history, making 104 foreign pilgrimages and 146 pastoral visits in Italy during his 26-year papacy. Benedict has indicated he too will travel. He has ...

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.

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 ...