Testament of Pope John Paul II Testament of Pope John Paul II The Testament of Pope John Paul II is a document written by Pope John Paul II, and is similar to a civilian last will and testament. It was modeled on the Testament of Pope Paul VI. The document, written in the Polish language, contains an explanation of several decisions made by Pope John Paul II as to the disposal of his estate and personal belongings of value. It was read before the College of Cardinals by Camerlengo Eduardo Martínez Somalo and Dean of the College of Cardinals Joseph Ratzinger (who became Pope Benedict XVI
Pope John Paul II regimen had been Pope Pius XI (1922–1939), who was an avid mountaineer. An "Irish Independent" article in the 1980s labelled John Paul II the "keep-fit pope". However, after over twenty-five years as pope, two assassination attempts, one of which injured him severely, and a number of cancer scares, John Paul's physical health declined. In 2001 he was diagnosed as suffering from Parkinson's disease. International observers had suspected this for some time, but it was only publicly acknowledged by the Vatican in 2003. Despite difficulty speaking more than a few sentences at a time, trouble hearing, and severe osteoarthrosis, he continued