This is a continuation of last Saturday's 16-page supplement highlighting John Paul II's papacy.
1991
January 15 - Letters to US President George Bush and to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in an attempt to avert the Gulf War.
February 5 - State visit by Polish President Lech Walesa.
March 4 - Representatives of the episcopates from the countries directly implicated in the Gulf War meet in the Vatican (March 4-5).
April 4 - Fourth Plenary Assembly of the College of Cardinals on the theme The Church Facing The Threat Against Human Life And The Challenge Of The Sects (April 4-7).
April 13 - Reorganisation of the Latin-Rite Catholic Church in the Soviet Republic of Belarus, Russia and Kazakistan.
April 22 - State visit of the President of the Republic of Chile, Patricio Aylwuin Azocar.
April 29 - Meeting of Swiss Bishops with the Holy Father and the Roman Curia (April 29-30).
May 3 - State visit by King Karl Gustaf XVI of Sweden and Queen Silvia.
May 10 - Pastoral visit to Portugal (May 10-13).
June 1 - Pastoral visit to Poland (June 1-9).
June 28 - Fifth Consistory of John Paul II for the creation of 22 new cardinals and the announcement of the 1979 appointment in pectore of Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei.
August 13 - Pastoral visit to Poland, at Czestochowa, for the Sixth World Youth Day, and in Hungary (August 13-20).
September 7 - Holy See and Albania establish diplomatic relations.
October 5 - Ecumenical prayer service at St Peter's Basilica, for the occasion of the 6th centenary of the canonisation of St Brigit of Sweden. For the first time since the Reformation, two Lutheran bishops prayed in St Peter's Basilica with the Pope, together with the Catholic bishops of Stockholm and Helsinki.
October 12 - Pastoral visit in Brazil (October 12-21).
1992
January 1 - Holy See recognises the Russian Federation.
January 13 - Holy See recognises Croatia and Slovenia.
February 8 - Holy See establishes diplomatic relations with Croatia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
February 19 - Pastoral visit to Senegal, Gambia and Guinea (February 19-26).
May 17 - Beatification of José Maria Escrivá de Balaguer, the founder of Opus Dei, and of Giuseppina Bakhita of Sudan.
June 4 - Pastoral visit to Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (June 4-10).
July 12 - At the Angelus, John Paul II announces he will go to Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital that evening for diagnostic tests. On July 15, the Holy Father undergoes surgery to remove a benign intestinal tumor. John Paul II is released from Gemelli Polyclinic on July 26.
September 21 - Diplomatic relations between Holy See and Mexico.
October 9 - Pastoral visit to Santo Domingo (October 9-14).
October 11 - Apostolic Constitution Fidei depositum - on the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church edited after the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.
October 31 - John Paul II receives in audience the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences. The academy presents to the Holy Father the conclusions reached by the Commission for the Study of the Ptolemaic-Copernican Controversy, which was instituted by John Paul II on June 3, 1981 to "provide to the world of science and culture the long-awaited response in merit to the case of Galileo Galilei".
November 27 - State visit by Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.
December 25 - Bishops of Albania appointed.
1993
January 9 - At Assisi, special prayer meeting for peace in Europe, particularly in the Balkans (January 9-10).
January 21 - Official visit by Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato.
February 3 - Pastoral visit to Benin, Uganda and Khartoum (February 3-10).
February 19 - State visit by the President of Slovenia, Milan Kucan.
April 25 - Pastoral visit to Albania.
May 9 - During a pastoral visit to Sicily, in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Pope launches an appeal to men of the Mafia to convert.
June 7 - State visit by the President of the Republic of Slovakia, Michal Kovac.
June 12 - Pastoral visit to Spain (June 12-17).
August 9 - Pastoral visit to Jamaica, Merida and Denver for the Eighth World Youth Day (August 9-16).
September 4 - Pastoral visit to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (September 4-10).
November 11 - The Holy Father dislocates his right shoulder during a fall at the end of an audience in the Hall of Benediction. He spent one day at Gemelli Hospital; his shoulder is immobilised for one month.
December 16 - State visit by the President of Argentina, Carlos Saul Menem.
December 26 - Opening of the Year of the Family.
December 30 - In Jerusalem, signing of an agreement on some basic principles regulating relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel.
1994
March 3 - State visit by German President Richard von Weizsäcker.
March 3 - Diplomatic relations with Jordan.
March 5 - Diplomatic relations with South Africa.
March 7 - State visit by Czech President Vaclav Havel.
March 17 - John Paul II receives in audience Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
March 19 - Letter to heads of states around the world and to the Secretary General of the United Nations on the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, held in September 1994.
April 7 - Concert held in the Vatican to commemorate the Shoah, in the presence of John Paul II and Chief Rabbi of Rome, Elio Toaff.
April 8 - John Paul II celebrates Mass in the Sistine Chapel for the unveiling of the restored frescoes of Michelangelo.
April 29 - Following an accidental fall the previous evening, which fractured the right femur, the Holy Father is recovered at the Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital and undergoes an operation. Released on May 27.
June 2 - John Paul II receives in audience US President Bill Clinton.
June 13 - Fifth Plenary Assembly of the College of Cardinals, with John Paul II participating, in preparation for the Jubilee of the Third Millennium (June 13-14).
June 15 - Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel.
September 8 - John Paul II offers Mass at Castelgandolfo for Bosnia-Herzegovina, after cancelling his planned visit to Sarajevo.
September 10 - Pastoral visit to Croatia (September 10-11).
October 8 - World Meeting of Families with the Holy Father honouring the International Year of the Family (October 8-9).
October 20 - Publication of the book Crossing The Threshold Of Hope.
October 25 - Start of "working contacts of a permanent and official character" between the Holy See and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
November 25 - State visit by Austrian President Thomas Klestil.
November 26 - Sixth Consistory of John Paul II for the creation of 30 new cardinals.
December 2 - State visit by the President of Lithuania, Algirdas Brazauskas.
December 13 - Letter to Children in the Year of the Family.
1995
January 11 - Pastoral visit to Manila for the 10th World Youth Day, to Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea), Sydney (Australia) and Colombo (Sri Lanka) (January 11-21).
January 14 - Broadcast over Radio Veritas, in Manila, John Paul II reads a message to Chinese Catholics.
February 4 - State visit by Maltese President Ugo Mifsud Bonnici.
May 8 - Message on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
May 20 - Pastoral visit to the Czech Republic (May 20-22).
June 3 - Pastoral visit to Belgium (June 3-4).
June 11 - Holy Mass in St Peter's Basilica to commemorate the end of World War II in Europe.
June 27 - Visit by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartolomeo I (June 27-30). Joint declaration signed on June 29.
June 29 - Letter to Women, published July 10.
June 30 - Pastoral visit to Slovakia (June 30 - July 3).
September 4 - Mary Ann Glendon, appointed by John Paul II as the first woman to head a Holy See delegation, addresses the Fourth UN Conference on Women in Beijing (September 4-15).
September 9 - Visit to Loreto, on the occasion of the European Youth Pilgrimage, broadcast live in Sarajevo (September 9-10).
September 14 - Pastoral visit to Yaoundé (Cameroon), Johannesburg/Pretoria (S. Africa) and Nairobi (Kenya) for the closing of the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops (September 14-20).
October 4 - Pastoral visit to New York, Newark, Brooklyn and Baltimore (October 4-9).
October 5 - Holy Father addresses the UN General Assembly; commemorates UN's 50th anniversary.
October 17 - The Holy Father receives the Bishops of Bosnia-Herzogovina, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Serbia.
November 8 - Ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of Gaudium et spes.
November 23 - One-day visit to Palermo for the Third Ecclesial Convention of the Italian Church.
November 26 - Special Assembly for Lebanon of the Synod of Bishops (November 26-December 14).
December 8 - During celebrations for the Immaculate Conception, the Pope entrusts Rome with a special mission for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
December 25 - Urbi et Orbi Christmas message and blessing on Internet.
1996
January 20 - State visit by French President Jaçques Chirac.
February 1 - State visit by the President of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León.
February 5 - Pastoral visit to Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Venezuela (February 5-12).
April 5 - Way of the Cross at the Colosseum: meditations prepared by Cardinal Vinko Pulijc, Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Sarajevo.
April 14 - Pastoral visit to Tunisia (April 14).
May 17 - Pastoral visit to Slovenia (May 17-19).
May 25 - State visit by the President of Uruguay, Julio Maria Sanguinetti.
June 21 - Pastoral visit to Germany (June 21-23). Historic speech at Brandeburg Gate and the announcement of the new Synod for Europe.
July 4 - State visit by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
July 7 - Celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine-Ukraine rite at the Vatican Basilica, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Union of Brest.
September 6 - Pastoral visit to Hungary (September 6-7).
September 19 - Pastoral visit to France (September 19-22).
October 6 - In the evening, the Holy Father is recovered at the Gemelli Hospital to undergo the scheduled surgical procedure of an appendectomy. The extemporaneous histological examination showed a transmural appendicitis with evidence of fibrosis established from preceding inflammatory episodes. The morphological finding is indicative of recidivist appendicitis. Operated on October 8 in the morning. Released from hospital October 15.
November 1 - The Holy Father celebrates Holy Mass at St Peter's Basilica on the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination with the diocese of Rome.
November 10 - Solemn Eucharistic concelebration in St Peter's Basilica. John Paul II celebrates Mass with the cardinals, bishops and priests consecrated in the year 1946.
November 13 - The Holy Father addresses the opening of the UN World Food Summit organised by FAO in Rome.
November 15 - Presentation of the Holy Father's book entitled Gift And Mystery, on the 50th anniversary of My Priestly Ordination.
November 19 - John Paul II receives in audience Cuban President Fidel Castro Ruz.
November 30 - John Paul II presides over the first vespers celebrated in St Peter's Basilica on the solemn occasion of the beginning of the three-year preparation for the Great Jubilee Year of 2000; announcement of the Holy Door opening for December 24, 1999.
December 3 - Visit by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of the Anglican Communion, Dr George Leonard Carey to the Holy Father and the Church of Rome (December 3-6).
December 10 - John Paul II receives the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, Karekin I (December 10-14).
December 19 - John Paul II receives in audience the President of the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat.
1997
January 23 - Visit by Aram I Keshishian, Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians, to the Holy Father and the Church of Rome (January 23-26).
February 3 - John Paul II receives in audience Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
February 14 - State visit by Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
March 10 - Holy See and Libya establish diplomatic relations.
March 24 - Opening presentation of the Holy See internet site.
April 7 - John Paul II receives in audience the President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski.
April 12 - Pastoral visit to Sarajevo (April 12-13).
April 25 - Pastoral visit to the Czech Republic (April 25-27).
May 4 - Beatification of five servants of God in St Peter's Square including the first Gypsy Ceferino Giménez Malla killed during the Spanish civil war of 1936.
May 10 - Pastoral visit to Beirut for the concluding phase of the Special Assembly for Lebanon of the Synod of Bishops (May 10-11).
May 16 - John Paul II receives in audience the President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze.
May 31 - Pastoral visit to Poland (May 31-June 10).
June 16 - Letters written by John Paul II to Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, and to Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, for the Middle East peace process.
June 24 - Letter on religious freedom sent to the President of the Russian Federation, Boris N. Yeltsin.
August 21 - Pastoral visit to Paris for the 12th World Youth Day (August 21-24).
September 27 - Pastoral visit to Bologna for the closing of the 23rd National Eucharistic Congress (September 27-28).
October 2 - Pastoral visit to Rio de Janeiro (October 2-6).
November 30 - Holy Mass to inaugurate the second year of preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 dedicated to reflection on the Holy Spirit.
1998
January 1 - Apostolic Constitution Ecclesia in Urbe - on the new regulations of the Vicariate of Rome.
January 3 - Pastoral visit to the people afflicted by the earthquake in the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marches. The Pope visits the towns of Annifo, Cesi and Assisi.
January 15 - Visit to the mayor of Rome, Francesco Rutelli, and the town council in Capitoline Hill.
January 21 - Pastoral visit to Cuba (January 21-26).
January 22 - Meeting with the President of Cuba, Fidel Castro Ruz, at the Palacio de la Revolución.
February 1 - Pastoral visit to the home of a Roman family in the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Prati, inaugurating Rome's city mission and the distribution of the Acts of the Apostles.
February 21 - Seventh Consistory of John Paul II for the creation of 20 new cardinals (plus two cardinals in pectore: Marian Jawarski e Janis Pujats).
March 7 - John Paul II receives in audience US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
March 12 - Letter to the President of the Holy See Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews in reference to the publication of the document entitled We Remember: A Reflection on The Shoah.
March 15 - Beatification of Bishop Eugenio Bossilkov, first martyr against communist persecution.
March 21 - Pastoral visit to Nigeria (March 21-23).
March 25 - Exchange of ratification document of the Concordat between the Holy See and Poland.
April 19 - Special Assembly for Asia of the Synod of Bishops. During the solemn opening, the Pope announces his invitation to two bishops from mainland China to attend (permission to leave China was denied).
May 15 - John Paul II receives in audience King Alberto II and Queen Paola of Belgium.
May 23 - Pastoral visit to Vercelli and Turin (May 23-24); veneration of the Holy Shroud.
May 30 - Meeting in St Peter's Square with the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities.
June 9 - Meeting with Cuban bishops to examine future prospects following the visit to Cuba.
June 12 - John Paul II receives in audience the President of the National Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat.
June 18 - John Paul II receives in audience the President of the Republic of South Africa, Nelson Mandela.
June 19 - Pastoral visit to Austria.
October 2 - Pastoral visit to Croatia (October 2-4).
October 11 - Canonisation of Blessed Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Edith Stein, martyr.
October 18 - John Paul II celebrates his 20th anniversary as Pointiff and the 40th anniversary of Episcopal Ministry.
October 20 - State visit to Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.
November 29 - Holy Mass for the inauguration of the third year of preparation for the Jubilee and presentation of Incarnationis mysterium - Bull of Indiction for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
1999
January 8 - John Paul II receives in audience the Prime Minister of Italy, Massimo D'Alema.
January 22 - Pastoral visit to Mexico City and St Louis, US for the closing of the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops (January 22-28).
February 11 - First ad limina visit of the Bishops of Laos and Cambodia.
March 11 - John Paul II receives in audience the President of Iran, Seyyed Mohammad Khatami.
April 1 - War in Kosovo: Archbishop Tauran, Secretary for Relations with States, in a Special Mission to Belgrade, delivers the Holy Father's personal message to the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On April 18, the Holy Father also sends a message to the Patriarch of Moscow, Aleksy II, in departure for Belgrade.
April 4 - John Paul II renews his appeal for peace in Kosovo in his Easter message Urbi et Orbi.
April 4 - Letter to Artists, published April 23.
April 26 - John Paul II receives in audience the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Ariel Sharon.
May 2 - Beatification of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina in St Peter's Square.
May 7 - Pastoral visit to Romania (May 7-9).
May 8 - In Bucharest, Romania, the Holy Father met with His Beatitude Teoctist, patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and with the Holy Synod. At the end of the meeting, the Pope and Patriarch Teoctist sign a joint declaration for peace in Kosovo.
May 10 - John Paul II receives in audience Ibrahim Rugova.
June 5 - Pastoral visit to Poland (June 5-17).
June 29 - Message to Karekin I, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all the Armenians, severely ill. The Patriarch died that same afternoon. The visit of John Paul II in Armenia, scheduled for July 2-4, was postponed.
September 9 - John Paul II sends a message to the bishops of East Timor in which he expresses his closeness to those experiencing the horror of the civil war.
September 19 - Pastoral visit to Slovenia.
October 1 - Letter to the Elderly, on the occasion of the International Year of the Elderly, promoted by the United Nations, published October 26, 1999.
October 19 - State visit by the President of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
October 31 - Prior to saying the Angelus, the Pope expresses his thanks for the signing in Augsburg, Germany, by the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation of the joint declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.
November 5 - Pastoral visit to New Delhi (November 5-9).
November 14 - Inauguration of the recently finished mosaic work and restoration of Redemptoris Mater chapel, located inside the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
December 24 - The start of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000: opening of the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica - Homily.
December 25 - Opening of the Holy Door of the Basilica of St John Lateran.
December 31 - Worldwide television coverage of the Holy Father's message and Urbi et Orbi blessing for the passage into the Year 2000.
2000
January 1 - Opening of the Holy Door of St Mary Major Basilica.
January 2 - Children's Jubilee. At the close of the event, the Pope awarded the John XXIII International Peace Prize to the non-governmental organisation ATD - Aide a toute detresse - Quart Monde.
January 18 - Opening of the Holy Door of the patriarchal basilica of St Paul's Outside-the Walls and ecumenical celebration with the representatives of various Churches and ecclesial communities on the occasion of the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
February 15 - John Paul II received in audience the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat and a Palestinian delegation, for the occasion of the signing of a basic agreement between the Holy See and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.
February 22 - In the Paul VI Hall, commemoration of Abraham "Our Father in the Faith", as the first gesture of his jubilee pilgrimage to the places linked with the history of salvation.
February 24 - Jubilee pilgrimage to Mount Sinai (February 24-26).
March 4 - Visit by the President of Korea, Kim Dae-jung.
March 12 - The Day of Pardon of the Holy Year 2000 celebrated in St Peter's Basilica.
March 20 - Jubilee pilgrimage to the Holy Land (March 20-26).
April 30 - First canonisation of the Jubilee Year: the Pope canonised Polish Blessed Maria Faustyna Kowalska (1905-1938), virgin of the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy.
May 1 - Celebration of the Jubilee of Workers at Tor Vergata, Rome.
May 7 - Ecumenical commemoration of the Witnesses to the Faith of the 20th century, at the Colosseum, Rome.
May 12 - Apostolic visit to Fatima (May 12-13).
May 13 - At the end of the Beatification ceremony at Fatima of Francesco and Giacinta Marto, Cardinal Angelo Sodano announced that the "third part" of the secret of Fatima will be made public. The message of Fatima to be published in its entirety on June 26.
May 18 - Celebration of the Jubilee of Priests and Holy Mass for the 80th birthday of the Holy Father.
May 21 - Canonisation of 27 Blesseds, among whom were 25 Mexican martyrs.
June 5 - John Paul II receives in audience the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.
June 13 - John Paul II expresses his satisfaction for the clemency granted to Alì Agca by the President of Italy during the Jubilee Year.
June 15 - John Paul II lunches with 200 poor and homeless people to celebrate the Jubilee.
June 18-25 - Celebration of the 43rd International Eucharistic Congress held in Rome for the occasion of the Jubilee.
June 24 - Message for the Jubilee in prisons.
July 9 - Visit to the Roman prison Regina Coeli to celebrate the Jubilee in prisons.
August 15-20 - Celebration of the 15th World Youth Day: more than two million young people were present at the Campus of Tor Vergata (Rome) for the Jubilee with the Pope.
September 3 - Beatification of five Servants of God, among whom were Pope Pius IX and Pope John XXIII.
October 1 - Canonisation of 123 Blesseds, including 120 martyrs in China.
October 8 - Jubilee of bishops: in St Peter's Square, the Pope together with the bishops repeat the Act of Entrustment.
October 14-15 - Jubilee of families.
October 17 - Visit by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
November 8 - His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, visits the Holy Father and the Church of Rome (November 8-11).
December 24-25 - Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord in the Year of the Great Jubilee.
2001
January 6 - Closing of the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica.
January 25 - Ecumenical celebration in the Basilica of Saint Paul's Outside-the-Walls, marking the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
February 18 - Divine Liturgy in the Armenian rite celebrated in St Peter's Basilica to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Baptism of the Armenian People.
February 21 - Eighth Consistory of John Paul II for the creation of 42 new cardinals and the publication of two cardinals in pectore.
February 22 - The New Fundamental Law of Vatican City State comes into effect (signed by the Holy Father on November 26, 2000).
March 11 - Beatification of 233 Servants of God, martyrs in Spain from 1936 to 1939.
May 4 - Jubilee pilgrimage to Greece, Syria and Malta on the footsteps of St Paul the Apostle (May 4-9).
June 23 - Pastoral visit to Ukraine (June23-27).
August 1 - 1,000th General Audience of the Pontificate of John Paul II.
September 22 - Pastoral visit in Kazakhstan and apostolic voyage to Armenia on the occasion of 1,700 years of Christianity in the country (September 22-27)
October 20 - First beatification of a married couple: Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini.
October 24 - Message to the international meeting Matteo Ricci: For A Dialogue Between China And The West, to mark the fourth centenary of the arrival of Jesuit missionary and scientist Matteo Ricci SJ, in Beijing.
November 18 - Following the terrorist attacks of September 11 and during the war in Afghanistan, the Pope, before reciting the Angelus, invites Catholics to a day of fasting for peace (December 14) and appeals to leaders of the world's religions to a Day of Prayer for Peace in the World in Assisi (January 24).
December 13 - Meeting of the Pope with bishops from the Holy Land.
December 16 - 300th pastoral visit of John Paul II to a parish within the diocese of Rome (total 334).
2002
January 18 - The Pope concedes the use of the Roman Rite and the liturgical discipline of St Pius V.
January 24 - Day of Prayer for Peace in the World at Assisi, with members of Churches and ecclesial communities and with representatives of other religions.
February 11 - Creation of an ecclesiastical province and elevation to the rank of diocese of the four apostolic administrations of the Russian Federation.
March 11 - Pope John Paul II receives in audience a delegation of the Greek Orthodox Church, headed by Metropolitan d'Attikis, Panteleimon.
April 7 - Day of Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land, called by Pope John Paul II on Divine Mercy Sunday, as the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem was under siege.
April 15 - Pope John Paul II telephones the Franciscan friars at the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, expressing his solidarity with them and thanking them for their "Christian witness".
May 1 - The Holy Father sent Cardinal Roger Etchegaray on a special mission to Jerusalem.
May 22 - Apostolic visit to Azerbaijan and Bulgaria (May 22-26,).
June 16 - Canonisation of Blessed Pio de Pietrelcina.
July 23 - Apostolic visit to Toronto, Guatemala City and Mexico City (July 23-August 2).
August 16 - Apostolic visit to Poland (August 16-19).
October 4 - Ecumenical celebration of Vespers in the Vatican Basilica on the occasion of the VII centenary of the birth of St Brigit of Sweden, co-patron of Europe.
October 6 - Canonisation of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer.
October 7 - Pope John Paul II met with His Beatitude Teoctist, the Orthodox patriarch of Romania.
October 16 - The Pope introduces the "mysteries of light" and proclaims a Year of the Rosary (October 2002-October 2003). The beginning of the 25th year of his Pontificate.
October 31 - An honorary citizenship of Rome is conferred on Pope John Paul II.
November 14 - Visit to the Italian Parliament in a public session held in the Palace of Montecitorio, Rome.
2003
January 25 - Television link-up with Manila (the Philippines) on the occasion of the IV World Meeting of Families.
March 5 - On the occasion of Ash Wednesday, day of fasting for the cause of peace, above all in the Middle East. During these weeks, the Pope meets numerous authorities and makes pressing appeals to avoid the danger of war in Iraq.
The Holy Father names Cardinal Roger Etchegaray as his special envoy to the Iraqi authorities in Iraq (February 10) and Cardinal Pio Laghi to the President of the United States in Washington (March 1).
March 6 - Presentation of Roman Triptych - Meditations, a book of poems by Pope John Paul II.
May 3 - Apostolic visit to Spain (May 3-4).
May 17 - The Pope receives doctorate honoris causa in jurisprudence from La Sapienza University of Rome.
June 5 - Apostolic visit to Croatia (June 5-9).
June 22 - Apostolic visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina (June 22).
September 11 - Apostolic visit to the Slovak Republic (September 11-14).
October 2 - Visit by Rowan Douglas Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of the Anglican Communion (October 2-5).
October 7 - Pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompei, in the Year of the Rosary (which closed October 31).
October 15 - Meeting of the college of cardinals on doctrinal and pastoral aspects of the Pontificate of John Paul II (October 15-18).
October 16 - Twenty-fifth anniversary of the Pontificate of John Paul II. The signing and promulgation of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Pastores Gregis.
October 19 - Beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
October 21 - Ninth Consistory of John Paul II for the creation of 31 new cardinals, including one in pectore.
November 16 - During the Angelus, the Pope makes an appeal for peace in the Holy Land: "The Holy Land does not need walls but bridges".
2004
March 24 - John Paul II receives the International Charlemagne Prize by the city of Aachen, Germany in recognition "of the Pope's personal commitment, and that of the Holy See, in favour of unity among the peoples of Europe on the basis of the values rooted in the common human nature and efficaciously promoted by Christianity".
May 18 - Publication of the book by John Paul II Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way.
June 5 - Apostolic visit to Bern (June 5-6).
June 29 - The Holy Father receives in audience His Holiness Bartholomew I, ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople (June 28- July 2).
August 14 - Pilgrimage to Lourdes (France) on the occasion of 150th anniversary of the promulgation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception (August 14-15).
August 28 - Delivery, by a delegation of the Holy See, of the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God to Patriarch Aleskij II as a gift by the Holy Father to the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian people.
October 17 - Opening of the Year of the Eucharist, via television link-up with Guadalajara (Mexico) where the 48th International Eucharist Congress was being celebrated.
November 4 - Receives in audience Ayad Allawi, Prime Minister of the Iraqi interim government.
November 27 - Delivery of the relics of the saints John Chrysostom and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors of the Church, to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I.
2005
February 1 - Pope taken to hospital in Rome with acute breathing problems and stays for 10 days, missing Ash Wednesday rituals at the Vatican for the first time in his papacy.
February 23 - Publication of the book by John Paul II, Memory And Identity.
February 24 - A second bout of respiratory problems puts John Paul back in Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he undergoes a tracheotomy to ease his breathing but temporarily loses his voice.
March 1 - Pope John Paul starts speaking again.
March 13 - Pope John Paul speaks directly to the Roman Catholic faithful for the first time since throat surgery. He returns to the Vatican later that day.
March 20 - For the first time in the papacy, Holy Week services leading up to Easter begin without the Pontiff.
March 24 - A cardinal who stood in for the Pointiff at a Holy Thursday ceremony at the Vatican says the ailing Pointiff was "serenely abandoning" himself to God's will.
March 27 - The Pope appears at the window of the Vatican following Easter services.
March 30 - The Vatican announces that the Pope is being fed through a nasal tube in an effort to boost his strength and help his slow recovery from throat surgery.
March 31 - The Pope is suffering from a very high fever caused by a urinary infection, the Vatican says.
April 2 - The Vatican announces Pope John Paul II passed away at 9.37 p.m.