What happened during the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II?

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and nearly killed in St. Peter’s Square by Mehmet Ali Agca, a 23-year-old Turkish man. The attack occurred on the feast day of the Virgin of Fátima, and the Pope later credited the Virgin with saving his life by guiding the bullet away from his vital organs.12

During the incident, Swiss Guards intervened to protect the Pope, with a plainclothes guardsman who assisted him later being named commandant. Although no conspiracy was ever proven in court, widespread suspicion existed at the time regarding potential Soviet involvement.21

Following the attempt, the Pope publicly forgave his assailant. In May 2000, the Vatican revealed that a vision of this 1981 assassination attempt was part of the third message of Fátima. On the first anniversary of the shooting, the Pope made a pilgrimage to Fátima, where he was again targeted by a man wielding a bayonet, though he was narrowly missed.1