Pope Leo XIV Kneels at John Paul II Shooting Site on 45th Anniversary

8 articles · Updated · Vatican News - English · May 13

Pope Leo XIV stopped his popemobile in St. Peter’s Square on May 13 and knelt in prayer at the plaque marking where St. John Paul II was shot in 1981.
The gesture tied the 45th anniversary of the assassination attempt to the memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, which Leo said shaped his catechesis and prayers that day.
In greetings to Portuguese pilgrims, Leo pointed to Fatima as a place of peace and asked that Mary’s intercession be sought for consolation, unity and people afflicted by war.
John Paul II was shot at close range before a general audience, survived emergency surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and later publicly forgave gunman Mehmet Ali Agca.

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