Assassination of Pope John Paul II, 1981

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was the victim of an assassination attempt as he drove through St. Peter's Square in his open-top Popemobile. The assassin, the Turk Mehmet Ali Agca, wounded him critically with several shots and was arrested immediately. The Pope caused a sensation when he visited the assassin in prison after his recovery in December 1984.