THIRTY-FIVE YEARS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF JOHN PAUL II'S PONTIFICATE

Vatican City, 22 October 2013 (VIS) – Today is the liturgical memory of Blessed John Paul II. This year it coincides with the thirty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of his pontificate, which began on Sunday 22 October 1978, when the young Cardinal Wojtyla, aged just 58, previously archbishop of Krakow, became the first Slavic Pope and went on to guide the Church for a further twenty-seven years. To commemorate this occasion, the book “Diritti e popoli in Giovanni Paolo II: principi fondamentali e prospettivi futuri” (“Rights and Peoples in John Paul II: fundamental principles and future perspectives) will be presented today at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.