Pope John Paul II looks at the faithful gathered at the Colosseum during the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) Good Friday service in Rome, 2003. (CNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters)  ...read more

Pope John Paul II prays the rosary in this L’Osservatore Romano photo dated May 4, 1991. This image, captured by a Vatican photographer, is the second most requested photo from the L’Osservatore Romano archives. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano) ...read more

Pope John Paul II places a prayer in a crevice of the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, March 26, 2000. Speaking to ecumenical leaders on the historic trip that included visits to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, the pontiff prayed that the Holy Land would be a homeland to all faiths and peoples. (CNS ...read more

Pope John Paul II waves to the throngs of people gathered for Mass in Poznan during his 1983 visit to Poland. Visiting seven cities, the pontiff defended Poland’s right to sovereignty and demanded political reforms. He offered support to Polish bishops who were defending human rights under martial law and urged fellow Poles to find ...read more

Archbishop Karol Wojtyla receives the cardinal’s red biretta from Pope Paul VI at the beginning of the consistory in the Sistine Chapel June 26, 1967. The future Pope John Paul II had a warm relationship with Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini), who served as a priest in Warsaw in 1923. (CNS file photo)  ...read more

Pope John Paul II holds his crosier as he prays during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in this undated photo. (CNS photo/Catholic Press Photo) ...read more

Pope John Paul II waves to young pilgrims during World Youth Day in Toronto July 25, 2002. (CNS photo/Arturo Mari)  ...read more

Pope John Paul II (center, in red boots) prays with a group of skiers before heading down a slope in this 1984 file photo. The pontiff, who enjoyed skiing in his native Poland before his election, was able to slip away to ski only a few times as he led the worldwide church. (CNS photo ...read more

Pope John Paul II kisses a rain-soaked tarmac as he arrives in Jakarta, Indonesia, on a pastoral trip in 1989. (CNS file photo)  ...read more

Pope John Paul II delivers his “urbi et orbi” (to the city of Rome and the world) message on Easter in 1993. (CNS photo from L’Osservatore Romano) ...read more