--- title: Pope John Paul II: One of the Longest-Tenured Popes in History description: April 2, 2005: Pope John Paul II dies at age 84 canonical: https://time.com/3761743/pope-john-paul-ii-history/ author: Jennifer Latson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-02T14:30:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:00.384Z article:section: History og:title: Pope John Paul II: One of the Longest-Tenured Popes in History og:description: April 2, 2005: Pope John Paul II dies at age 84 og:url: https://time.com/3761743/pope-john-paul-ii-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte74f098c75d6c6f6/6987859d2dce01690f9de3f5/popejpii.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: John-Paul II og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pope John Paul II: One of the Longest-Tenured Popes in History twitter:description: April 2, 2005: Pope John Paul II dies at age 84 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte74f098c75d6c6f6/6987859d2dce01690f9de3f5/popejpii.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How John Paul II Became One of the Longest-Tenured Popes Ever > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: TIME's 2013 Person of the Year: Pope Francis [Watch (HLS stream): TIME's 2013 Person of the Year: Pope Francis](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1rYj3kZp.m3u8) (5:35)  _Published 2013-12-11. TIME Managing Editor Nancy Gibbs and Deputy Managing Editor Radhika Jones reveal the Person of the Year and the influencers who shaped 2013._ by [Jennifer Latson](https://time.com/author/jennifer-latson/) ## Jennifer Latson Apr 2, 2015 2:30 PM UTC  Pope John-Paul II in Zaire in August 1985 Pope John-Paul II in Zaire in August 1985 Francois Lochon—Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images by [Jennifer Latson](https://time.com/author/jennifer-latson/) ## Jennifer Latson Apr 2, 2015 2:30 PM UTC Pope John Paul II’s death on this day, April 2, ten years ago, brought an end to the second-longest Papal term (26 years and change) since Peter’s reign. But it could have been much shorter if a trio of unrelated assassination plots had been successful. The first nearly was: In May 1981, less than three years after John Paul was elected, he was shot by a Turkish terrorist while riding in an open Popemobile, greeting visitors in St. Peter’s Square. According to [TIME’s account](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,924742,00.html), “The Pope had apparently been hit by two bullets, fired from only a few yards away. One shattered the two joints of the ring finger of his left hand, ricocheted and grazed his right arm. The other blasted into his abdomen, passing completely through his body and ripping up the Pope’s intestines but narrowly missing his pancreas, abdominal aorta and spine.” Italian surgeons performed a white-knuckle, five-and-a-half hour surgery to save the Pope, removing several pieces of his intestine. When they were finished, the chief of surgery issued a cautious proclamation, per TIME: “The prognosis is reserved \[because of the danger of infection\], but there is hope that the Pope will recover and stay with us.” He stayed, although his injuries would torment him for the rest of his life. And within a few days of the shooting, he had publicly forgiven his would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca, who was pardoned by Italian officials in 2000 at the Pope’s request. A year after Agca’s assassination attempt, the Pope visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal to “fulfill a vow of gratitude to the Virgin Mary,” [per TIME](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,953506,00.html), for having saved his life. As he climbed the basilica’s steps, a man lunged at him with a 16-inch bayonet. A security guard wrestled the man to the ground within an arm’s length of the Pope. This time, the assailant was an archconservative Spanish priest opposed to “the liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), especially its modernization of the 16th century Latin Mass,” as TIME attests. Even Al Qaeda once had John Paul in its sights. In 1995, when the Pope visited the Philippines to celebrate World Youth Day, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (who later masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks) and two co-conspirators planned an assassination attempt that was foiled when a fire broke out in their apartment and authorities found bomb-making materials and other incriminating evidence, [according to the _Wall Street Journal_.](http://www.wsj.com/articles/pope-francis-visit-to-philippines-creates-mass-of-security-concerns-1421226237) The motive behind the most damaging attack — Agca’s — has never been firmly established. At first the shooter said he was acting alone, but later claimed he had been following orders from Soviet and Bulgarian secret services, [according to _Newsweek,_](http://www.newsweek.com/man-who-tried-assassinate-pope-john-paul-ii-returns-leave-roses-tomb-295329) which adds, “A 2006 investigation led by an Italian parliamentary commission corroborates said claim; the investigative team said the attack had been orchestrated by former Soviet Union leaders ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” Pope John Paul II’s forgiveness alone may not have been enough to make him a saint, but it was remarkable enough to the world, and to Agca, when the Pope [paid him a cordial visit](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,952295,00.html) in his Roman prison cell in early 1984\. Thirty years later, not long after John Paul II’s canonization, Agca placed two dozen white roses on his tomb. “A thousands thanks, holiness. This is a miracle that goes on,” Agca said in Italian, per _Newsweek_. **_Read TIME’s original account of that first assassination attempt, here in the TIME Vault_**: [Hand of Terrorism](http://time.com/vault/issue/1981-05-25/page/1/) ### The Most Surprising Photos of Pope Francis  The wind lifts Pope Francis' mantle as he delivers his speech in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on Sept. 26, 2015. Tony Gentile—AP  Pope Francis looks at the Statue of Liberty from the window of a helicopter on his way to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York City, on Sept. 26, 2015. L'Osservatore Romano/AP  A Pope Francis mannequin rides around in a car in Times Square as New York City waits for the arrival of the Pope to the city, on Sept. 24, 2015. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images  Kaydn Dorsey, 4, and Lionel Perkins, 4, draw on a coloring sheet bearing the image of Pope Francis as they wait for him to arrive on a visit to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in Washington, on Sept. 24, 2015. David Goldman—Reuters  Nuns with the Hospitaler Sisters of Mercy in Pleasantville, N.J., pose for a selfie with a cutout of Pope Francis, at the World Meeting of Families conference, in Philadelphia, on Sept. 22, 2015. Matt Rourke—AP  Pope Francis blows out the candles of a birthday cake to celebrate his 78th birthday during a general audience at the Vatican on Dec. 17, 2014. Osservatore Romano/AFP/Getty Images  Paying the bill at Rome's Domus Internationalis Paulus VI hotel, where Pope Francis stayed as a cardinal before entering the conclave and being elected pope. Osservatore Romano/AP  Welcoming Pope emeritus Benedict XVI as he returns to the Vatican from the pontifical summer residence of Castel Gandolfo. Osservatore Romano/AP  Holding a disabled child after celebrating Easter Mass. Alessandro di Meo—ANSA/Zuma Press  Pope Francis masks in a factory in Brazil, where the Pontiff took his first overseas trip. Christophe Simon—AFP/Getty Images  Leading the Worldwide Eucharistic adoration at the Vatican. Alessandra Benedetti—Corbis  A gust of wind blows the pope's mantle. Alessandra Tarantino—AP  Attending the opening of the Pastoral Convention of the Diocese of Rome. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters  Leaving a welcoming ceremony at Guanabara Palace in Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—Reuters  Greeting the weekly General Audience. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters  Pointing to the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida from the balcony of the Aparecida basilica in Brazil. Domenico Stinellis—AP  A Catholic faithful in Brazil bears a sticker of Pope Francis on his forehead. Ueslei Marcelino—Reuters  Images of Pope Francis projected onto screens at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Paulo Whitaker— Reuters  Departing Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—Reuters  A stray dog walks across the stage near the altar where Pope Francis celebrates the World Youth Day's closing Mass on the Copacabana beachfront. Victor R. Caivano—AP  Listening to confessions of young people in a park in Rio de Janeiro. L'Osservatore Romano—EPA  Posing with youths in Saint Peter's Basilica. L'Osservatore Romano—EPA  Greeting the faithful on a rainy day during the General Audience. Fabio Frustaci—Eidon Press/Zuma Press  Arriving to lead his General Audience in a firefighter's helmet. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters  A quiet moment after meeting with Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo at the Vatican. Max Rossi—Reuters  Marking the 110th anniversary UNITALSI, a Catholic organization dedicated to helping the sick. Francesco Zizola—NOOR for TIME  A private Audience with Russian President Vladimir Putin. L'Osservatore Romano/AP  Keeping warm during a General Audience. Alessandra Tarantino—AP  Comforting a disfigured man at the end of his General Audience. Claudio Peri—EPA  Blessing a sick man with deformed facial features. Evandro Inetti—Zuma Press  Visiting the parish of the Sant'Alfonso Maria de Liguori during the Epiphany day. L'Osservatore Romano—AFP/Getty Images  Reacting to devotees at a weekly General Audience. Alessandro Bianchi—Reuters  A seagull attacks a dove released during a prayer conducted by Pope Francis. Alessandro Bianchi—Reuters  A scarf is tossed at Pope Francis by a faithful. Tony Gentile—Reuters  Italian artist Mauro Pallotta's superhero rendering of Pope Francis in a street near St. Peter's Basilica. Alessandra Benedetti—Corbis  Blowing a kiss to pilgrims gathered at Saint Peter's Square. Vincenzo Pinto—AFP/Getty Images  Meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in the private library of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. Vatican Pool/Contrasto/Redux  With Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at the Vatican. Alessandra Benedetti—Vatican Pool/Corbis  A wind gust lifts Pope Francis's mantle as he arrives at the traditional Washing of the Feet during Holy Thursday. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty Images  Kissing a man's at the traditional Washing of the Feet. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty Images  Visitors take photos of Pope Francis as he speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. 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