Pope John Paul II starts his first official papal visits outside Italy to The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Mexico.

Pope John Paul II

Head of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005

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…

List of pastoral visits of Pope John Paul II

During his reign, Pope John Paul II made 146 pastoral visits within Italy and 104 foreign trips, more than all previous popes combined. In total he logged more than 1,167,000 km (725,000 mi). He consistently attracted large crowds on his travels, some among the largest ever…

The Bahamas

Country in North America

The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country located within the Lucayan Archipelago. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. It comprises more than 3,000 islands, cays and islets in the Atlantic…

Dominican Republic

Country in the Caribbean

The Dominican Republic is a country in the Caribbean located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and a land border with Haiti to the west, occupying the…

Mexico

Country in North America

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundaries with the Pacific Ocean to the…