Pope John Paul II waves to the tens of thousands of faithful, many of them from Poland, gathered in St. Peter Square in Vatican City 16 October 1998 during celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of its pontificate. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE)

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP Pope John Paul II prays 29 November 2000 during his weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican, AFP PHOTO GABRIEL BOUYS

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP Pope John Paul II gestures 15 November 2000 during his weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican. AFP PHOTO GABRIEL BOUYS

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP (FILES) This file photo taken 16 October 1978 shows Pope John Paul II, former Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyla, smiling at the Vatican, after being named at the head of the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II celebrates 15 October 2003 the 25th anniversary of his election, overshadowed by deep concern for his health which has been in steady decline for months. AFP PHOTO

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP (FILES) This file photo dated 09 April 2004 shows Pope John Paul II holding the Holy Cross during the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) service, symbolically retracing Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion in front of Rome's ancient Colosseum on Good Friday. Pope John Paul II died 02 April 2005 at 21:37 (1937 GMT), the Vatican said. "The Holy Father died this evening at 21:37 in his private apartment," said a brief statement released by the Holy See. AFP PHOTO / Patrick HERTZOG

PHOTO: EAST NEWS JAN PAWEL II PODCZAS AUDIENCJI NA PLACU SW. PIOTRA W WATYKANIE Pope John Paul II waves 13 September 2000 during the general audience in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. Religious and diplomatic sources announced 18 September 2000 that the pontiff is planning a visit to Syria, most likely after the Orthodox church celebrates Easter in April 2001. Up to two million Catholics and members of other Christian denominations live in Syria.

PIELGRZYMKA JANA PAWLA II DO ZIEMI SWIETEJ, KORAZIM Pope John Paul II waves at a gathering of some 100,000 pilgrims during a mass celebrated 24 March 2000 in Korazim by the Sea of Galilee at the foot of the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus is thought to have preached the Sermon. Continuing his emotional pilgrimage to the sites of Christ's life and death, the pontiff delivered a deeply religious homily, beseeching the young to heed Christ's words of peace. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE)

PIELGRZYMKA JANA PAWLA II DO ZIEMI SWIETEJ, KORAZIM Pope John Paul II waves at a gathering of some 100,000 pilgrims gathered for a mass 24 March 2000 in Korazim by the Sea of Galilee at the foot of the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus is thought to have preached the Sermon. Continuing his emotional pilgrimage to the sites of Christ's life and death, the pontiff delivered a deeply religious homily, beseeching the young to heed Christ's words of peace. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE)

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP Pope John Paul II gestures during a weekly's general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican 15 September 2004. AFP PHOTO/Paolo COCCO

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP Pope John Paul II holds his farewell mass 14 September 2003 in a central square of Bratislava, winding up his four days visit in Slovakia, and beatified two Catholic martyrs who were persecuted by the country's former communist regime. AFP PHOTO / Patrick HERTZOG TRPAR2003091474096

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP Pope John Paul II celebrates an open-air mass, 12 September 2003 in front of tens of thousands of people gathered in the central square of Banska Bystrica, 230 kilometers northeast of the Slovakian capital Bratislava during his four-day visit in Slovakia. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK HERTZOG

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP Pope John Paul II greets the crowd during the Eucharistic Mass celebrated at the hippodrome in Stozice, Slovenia 18 May. The pope arrived 17 May for a three-day visit to Slovenia, his first ever to the country. AFP PHOTO by Anja NIEDRINGHAUS

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/APF (FILES) This photo dated 09 April 2004 shows Pope John Paul II attending the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) service, symbolically retracing Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion in front of Rome's ancient Colosseum on Good Friday. Pope John Paul II died 02 April 2005 at 21:37 (1937 GMT), the Vatican said. "The Holy Father died this evening at 21:37 in his private apartment," said a brief statement released by the Holy See. AFP PHOTO

Climbing the stairs of the altar, Pope John Paul II bids farewell to "people of the sea" 11 June 1987 in the northern Polish harbour of Gdynia during his vis to Poland. AFP PHOTO ERIC FEFERBERG

Pope John Paul II waves to the cheering crowd 10 June 1987 prior to a mass in Krakow during the pontiff's visit to Poland. AFP PHOTO ERIC FEFERBERG

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP Pope John Paul II salutes the crowd during the Beatification mass of Mother Teresa 19 October 2003 on St Peter Square at the Vatican. Thousands of pilgrims flocked to the Vatican just six years after the death of the nun they called the "Saint of the gutters". AFP PHOTO PATRICK HERTZOG

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP Pope John Paul II blesses the pilgrims during his traditional Christmas Day "Urbi and Orbi" blessing, 25 December 2000, on Saint Peter's Square in Vatican. Pope John Paul II denounced the violence in the Middle East and the "culture of death" threatening the future of the world.

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP Pope John Paul II blesses bishops in St. Peter Basilica during the solemn closing ceremony of the second special assembly of the synod of European bishops on Saturday, 23 October 1999.

FRANCE : Pope John Paul II blesses 05 October 1986 the crowd of 50,000 of youths gathered in Garland Stadium of Lyons. The pontiff was visiting from 04 to 07 Ocotober East and Central regions of France (it was his 31th International Pastoral visit).

PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP Pope John Paul II celebrates mass 24 August on the Longchamp racecourse, western Paris, where an estimated crowd of more than a million young Catholics gathered since 23 August and slept overnight to attend the huge open-air mass. 12STE SPOTKANIE SWIATOWEGO DNIA MLODZIEZY, W KTORYM BRALO UDZIAL LACZNIE 500 TYS PIELGRZYMOW ZE 160 KRAJOW.