Should Pope John Paul II be named a saint?
By blackmonday. Tuesday, 27. June 2006, 23:30:49
[IMGRIGHT=/blackmonday/homes/blog/PopeJohnPaulII-LARGE.jpgChronology of Pope John Paul IIEarly Life
May 18, 1920: Karol Joseph Wojtyla born in Wadowice, Poland.
Nov. 1, 1946: Ordained as a priest.
Sept. 28, 1958: Consecrated as auxiliary bishop of Krakow
March 8, 1964: Made bishop of Krakow.
June 28, 1967: Made into cardinal by Pope Paul VI
As The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
Oct. 16, 1978: Elected Roman Catholic Pope by cardinals, first Polish Pope and first non-Italian in 455 years.
Jan. 25, 1979: Trip to Dominican Republic, Mexico, Bahamas.
June 2, 1979: Goes to Poland for first time as Pope
Someone Tried to Kill Him
May 13, 1981: Shot in abdomen by Turkish militant Mehmet Ali Agca in St.
Peter's Square
Sept. 15, 1982: Receives Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat at Vatican
April 13, 1986: Makes historic visit to Rome's main synagogue.
Dec. 1, 1989: Meets Mikhail Gorbachev at Vatican, Never done before meeting between a Russian chief and Pope
May 1, 1991: Issues first encyclical on social issues since fall of communism in Europe, giving qualified approval to capitalism but warning rich against taking advantage of poor.
July 15, 1992: Operation for benign tumor on colon. Leaves hospital July 28.
Sept. 4-10, 1993: Visits former Soviet Union for first time, traveling to Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia.
Oct. 5, 1993: Issues encyclical "Splendor of Truth," his major statement on morality.
Dec. 30, 1993: Agreement signed establishing formal ties between Israel and Vatican.
Oct. 19, 1994: Publishes his book, "Beyond the Threshold of Hope."
March 3, 1995: Issues encyclical "Gospel of Life," and condemns spreading "culture of death," including abortion, euthanasia, experimentation on human embryos.
March 10, 1997: Vatican establishes diplomatic relations with Libya, overriding U.S. objections.
Jan. 21-26, 1998: Visits Cuba for first time.
March 16, 1998: Vatican issues "We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah," or Holocaust, expressing remorse for cowardice of some Christians during World War II but defending actions of wartime Pope Pius XII.
Oct. 19, 1998: Celebrates 20th anniversary as pope, He requests prayers to fulfill his mission "until the end."
Dec. 24, 1999: Brings in Vatican millennium Jubilee year by opening Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica.
March 20-26, 2000: Makes first trip to Holy Land. Left at Jerusalem's Western Wall, expresses sorrow for suffering of Jews at Christian hands.
Sept. 3, 2000: Beatifies much-attacked Pope Pius IX and much-loved Pope John XXIII in one of most disputed acts of papacy.
May 4, 2001: Becomes first pope to visit Greece since Schism of 1054
April 23, 2002: Summons U.S. cardinals to discuss sex abuse scandal, tells them there is no place in priesthood for clerics who abuse young.
May 17, 2003: Cardinal, in newspaper interview, confirms pope has Parkinson's disease.
June 5-9, 2003: Makes 100th foreign trip, visiting Croatia.
July 31, 2003: Vatican launches global campaign against gay marriages.
Aug. 15, 2004: Breathes heavily and gasps during open-air Mass at Lourdes, France.
End of Life
Feb. 1, 2005: Rushed to Rome hospital with flu and difficulties breathing.
March 30, 2005: Given nasal feeding tube.
March 31, 2005: Develops high fever brought on by urinary infection.
April 1, 2005: Vatican announces pope is in "very serious" condition after suffering heart failure and a septic infection.
April 2, 2005: Vatican announces Pope is in a grave conditin and has a high fever. Pope John Paul II died.
Biography of Pope John Paul II
