Today in History Today is Friday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2022. There are 232 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 13, 1981, Pope
An arrow points to David DePerro in St. Peter s Square on May 13, 1981. / Magda Gorman/Used by permission.Vatican City, May 13, 2022 / 03:47 am (CNA).On May 13, 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca shot Pope John Paul II and critically injured him. The pictures of the pontiff in a blood-soaked cassock in a jeep went around the world. David DePerro, who was nine years old at the time, saw the assassination attempt at close range. In an interview, the now 50-year-old speaks about how he experienced the attack and explains why he only talks about it decades later.Markus Vögele: On May 13, 1981, you were in St. Peter s Square when Mehmet Ali Agca shot Pope John Paul II. From what distance did you see the assassination attempt? David DePerro: We were close enough to the assassination attempt for the priest in our group to see the gun itself. And what exactly did you see?The pope had spent a long time working through the crowd, shaking the hands of all those crowded to the alley barrier. A few minu.
As John Paul II took the hand of his would-be-assassin, he showed us that a Christian must forgive his enemies, even when they do not want forgiveness. Death had appeared all but certain to .