Pope John Paul II Shot in St. Peter's Square: Survives Two Bullets
Mehmet Ali Ağca fired four shots into Pope John Paul II, sending the pontiff rushing to emergency surgery at Rome's Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic. The Pope's survival shattered the assassin's plan to decapitate the Catholic Church and instead galvanized a global outpouring of support that strengthened the Vatican's political standing during the Cold War.
May 13, 1981
45 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Rome
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Pope
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Mehmet Ali Ağca
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Pope John Paul II
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surgery
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1981 Pope John Paul II assassination attempt
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St. Peter's Square
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Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic
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attempts to assassinate
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Mehmet Ali Ağca
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Vatican City
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Rome
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St. Peter's Square
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Pope John Paul II
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Portugal
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Sister Lúcia
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Fátima, Portugal
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Juan María Fernández y Krohn
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Attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II
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Gemelli University Hospital
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Surgery
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Our Lady of Fátima
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Marian apparition
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Cova da Iria
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Jacinta Marto
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Francisco Marto
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Santuario de Fátima
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Camillo Cibin
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Apparitions mariales de Fátima
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Basilique Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire de Fátima
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Village
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Pastorinhos de Fátima
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أشيكاغا يوشي-ميتسو يبني معبد كينكاكو-جي.
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