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Installed as archbishop of Krakow.
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Consecrated as a cardinal by Pope Paul VI
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Chosen by the second conclave of 1978 as Pope!
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Takes first trip abroad, to Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Bahamas.
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For his first papal trip Pope John Paul II viseted Poland for the first time as pope, setting off sparks that help establish Solidarity, the first independent labor movement in the Soviet bloc.
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While circling St. Peter's Square, the pope is shot in the abdomen by a young Turk named Mehmet Ali Agca.
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Meets privately with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat at Vatican, provoking criticism from Israel and Jewish groups.
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Calls for the heads of government of the United States and the Soviet Union to negotiate an end to the arms race.
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Makes historic visit to Rome's main synagogue, the oldest Jewish group in the Diaspora.
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Official visit of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
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Official visit of U.S. President George H.W. Bush.
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Receives Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev at the Vatican in the first ever meeting between a pope and a Kremlin chief.
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Issues first encyclical on social issues since the fall of communism in Europe, giving qualified approval to capitalism but warning rich against taking advantage of poor.
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Undergoes surgery for benign tumor on colon. Leaves hospital July 28.
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Visits former Soviet Union for first time, traveling to Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia.
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Agreement signed establishing formal diplomatic ties between Israel and Vatican.
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Publishes his book, Crossing the Threshold of Hope.
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Undergoes appendectomy. Returns to Vatican Oct. 15.
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Meets with Cuban President Fidel Castro to discus issues.
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Gives permission to start the cause of beatification for Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
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Makes first pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In note left at Jerusalem's Western Wall, expresses sorrow for suffering of Jews at the hands of Christians. Also celebrates first papal Mass ever held in Egypt, urging reconciliation between the Vatican and the Egyptian Coptic Church, which split with Rome in the fifth century A.D.
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Beatifies much-attacked Pope Pius IX and much-loved Pope John XXIII in one of the most disputed acts of his papacy.
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Receives U.S. President George W. Bush.
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Weeks before U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq, makes a dramatic appeal for world prayer to avert war and sends top cardinals on peace missions to Washington, D.C., and Baghdad.
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Vatican launches global campaign against gay marriages.
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Rushed to a hospital in Rome with flu and difficulties breathing.
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Pope John Paul II dies at 84.
