Pope John Paul II visits Mehmet Ali Ağca in Rebibbia's prison and personally forgives him for the 1981 attack on him in St. Peter's Square.

Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third-longest-serving pope in history, after Pius IX and St. Peter.

Mehmet Ali Ağca is a Turkish hitman and former member of the Grey Wolves. He murdered journalist Abdi İpekçi on 1 February 1979 and was imprisoned, but he escaped. He travelled illegally to Vatican City on 13 May 1981, and attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II on the same day. However, the assassination attempt failed, and he was captured and imprisoned by the Italian police.

Rebibbia is an urban zone of Rome, Italy. It is located on the ancient Via Tiburtina on the northeast edge of the city. Administratively Rebibbia is part of both Ponte Mammolo quarter of Rome and Municipio IV of Rome.

On 13 May 1981, in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II was shot and wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca while he was entering the square. The Pope was struck twice and suffered severe blood loss. Ağca was apprehended immediately and later sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court. The Pope forgave Ağca for the assassination attempt. He was pardoned by Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi at the Pope's request and was deported to Turkey in June 2000.

St. Peter's Square is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave in Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Both the square and the basilica are named after Saint Peter, an apostle of Jesus whom Catholics consider the first Pope.