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 ...

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.

John Paul I’s papacy lasted just 33 days. Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who succeeded him, chose the name John Paul II. JOHN: Chosen 23 times by popes, most recently in 1958 by Pope John XXIII.

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

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.

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.

New book also reveals that Pope John Paul had a mean sweet tooth and a temper. Jan. 27, 2010— -- Pope John Paul II, whose world travels helped modernize the papacy, sometimes practiced ...