Late in the afternoon of 13 May 1981, the most charismatic pope of modern times was touring St Peter's Square in his Popemobile before giving his weekly address.
In those days, it was an open-top vehicle offering little protection. But at the time, few thought any protection was needed.
Pope John Paul II was reaching out to the crowd, picking up small children and kissing them.
Several shots rang out. The Pope stood, looking stunned, for a moment, then collapsed into the arms of his personal secretary, blood seeping from his abdomen.
He was rushed to hospital, where, after five hours of surgery and losing three quarters of his blood, he narrowly survived.
A photograph captured the moment, a hand holding a gun seen clearly pointing out from the crowd. The would-be assassin was quickly caught at the scene. He was a young, good-looking Turkish man named Mehmet Ali Agca.
Twenty-nine years later, a now grey-haired Agca was driven away from the high-security prison outside Ankara where he has spent the past four years.
Aside from some military bureaucracy - he is still technically liable for Turkish military service - he is a free man. But his motive for shooting the Pope remains a mystery.
Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8465527.stm
In those days, it was an open-top vehicle offering little protection. But at the time, few thought any protection was needed.
Pope John Paul II was reaching out to the crowd, picking up small children and kissing them.
Several shots rang out. The Pope stood, looking stunned, for a moment, then collapsed into the arms of his personal secretary, blood seeping from his abdomen.
He was rushed to hospital, where, after five hours of surgery and losing three quarters of his blood, he narrowly survived.
A photograph captured the moment, a hand holding a gun seen clearly pointing out from the crowd. The would-be assassin was quickly caught at the scene. He was a young, good-looking Turkish man named Mehmet Ali Agca.
Twenty-nine years later, a now grey-haired Agca was driven away from the high-security prison outside Ankara where he has spent the past four years.
Aside from some military bureaucracy - he is still technically liable for Turkish military service - he is a free man. But his motive for shooting the Pope remains a mystery.
Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8465527.stm
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