PARIS — Saint Peter’s Square in Rome was packed with 20,000 faithful hoping to catch a glimpse of John Paul II on that fateful May afternoon 40 years ago.
Suddenly as his open white Fiat “Popemobile” eased through the crowd, the pontiff collapsed — shot at close range by a far-right Turkish nationalist whose motives remain mysterious to this day.
At 5:41 pm on May 13, 1981 AFP flashed: “Pope John Paul II wounded by two gun shots.”
The 60-year-old Karol Wojtyla was immediately rushed to hospital. He was hit in the abdomen, left hand and right arm. Two women in the Polish-born pope’s entourage were also hurt.
Rome was gri…
Keep on reading: Panic and prayers: the day Pope John Paul II was shot