Pope John Paul II is embraced by Cambodian Buddhist monk Maha Ghosananda during an interreligious encounter in Assisi, Italy, Oct. 27, 1986. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano) ...read more

Pope John Paul II is assisted by his personal secretary Msgr. Stanislaw Dziwisz as he slumps in an open Fiat jeep on May 13, 1981 after he was shot and nearly killed by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano) ...read more

Pope John Paul II visits Uganda in February 1993. (CNS photo from L’Osservatore Romano, Arturo Mari) ...read more

Pope John Paul II kisses the hand of the child Jesus on a statue of Mary during a celebration in Cuzco, Peru, Feb. 3, 1985. (CNS photo/Catholic Press Photo) ...read more

Pope John Paul II greets the World Youth Day crowd in Czestochowa, Poland, in 1992. An estimated 1.5 million people from 80 countries attended the third international World Youth Day. (CNS file photo)  ...read more

Pope John Paul II greets Mother Teresa of Calcutta at the Vatican in an undated file photo. Mother Teresa, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity was beatified by Pope John Paul in 2003. (CNS photo) ...read more

Father Karol Wojtyla is pictured next to bicycles during an outing in Poland in the early 1950s. His strong interest in outdoor activities continued through his years as Pope John Paul II, until the effects of age kept him away from strenuous pursuits.  Pope John Paul together with Pope John XXIII will be declared saints ...read more

Pope John Paul II appears from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after his election Oct. 16, 1978. The pope, who died April 2, 2005, will be canonized at the Vatican April 27, 2014.(CNS file photo)  ...read more

On Saturday, February 22nd, 2014, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Pope Francis presided his first ordinary public consistory, creating nineteen new cardinals. Sixteen of them are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave to choose the next successor of St Peter. These men reflect the universal nature ...read more

Below is the full text of the catechesis by Maria Voce, leader of the Focolare Movement, as delivered on Day 2 of the 2012 International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland. Communion in one Baptism Ten years ago I visited Ireland for the first time. I came to be with a dear friend, Lieta Betoño, who ...read more