Pope John Paul II Aboriginal children in Australia, and to China for the behaviour of Catholic missionaries in colonial times. When he became pope in 1978 at the age of 58, John Paul II was an avid sportsman. He was extremely healthy and active, jogging in the Vatican gardens, weight training, swimming, and hiking in the mountains. He was fond of football. The media contrasted the new pope's athleticism and trim figure to the poor health of John Paul I and Paul VI, the portliness of John XXIII and the constant claims of ailments of Pius XII. The only modern pope with a fitness
Pope John Paul I light on. According to a Vatican doctor, he probably died around 11 p.m [...] of a heart attack" that occurred on 28 September. John Paul I's funeral was held in Saint Peter's Square on 4 October 1978, celebrated by Cardinal Carlo Confalonieri. In his eulogy of the late pope, he described him as a flashing comet who briefly lit up the church. He then was laid to rest in the Vatican grottoes. It was said that around 10:00 on the night of his death, the pope learned that several young neo-Fascists had fired upon a group of young people reading