Gun used on John Paul II exhibited at his birthplace
AFP
WADOWICE- The gun used in an assassination bid on Pope John Paul II went on display Monday as part of a new exhibition at the soon-to-be saint's childhood home in Poland.
The former Karol Wojtyla, who will be canonised on April 27, was born in a house overlooking a basilica in the southern town of Wadowice that has since become a museum and pilgrimage site for his huge following.
Italy's justice ministry has loaned the museum the gun, a Browning 9mm, for three years.
The late pontiff nearly died when Turkish extremist Mehmet Ali Agca shot him at close range in 1981 in Saint Peter's Square, with one bullet going through his abdomen and another narrowly missing his heart.
The multimedia-heavy exhibition at 7 Koscielna Street also features clothes and family photos belonging to the pope, who died in 2005 after a 27-year marathon papacy.
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The late pontiff nearly died when Turkish extremist Mehmet Ali Agca shot him at close range in 1981 in Saint Peter's Square, with one bullet going through his abdomen and another narrowly missing his heart.
The multimedia-heavy exhibition at 7 Koscielna Street also features clothes and family photos belonging to the pope, who died in 2005 after a 27-year marathon papacy.
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