Pope John Paul II predecessor, then took the regnal name of "John Paul II", also in honour of the late Pope Paul VI, and the traditional white smoke informed the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square that a pope had been chosen. There had been rumours that the new pope wished to be known as "Pope Stanislaus I" in honour of the Polish saint of the name, but was convinced by the cardinals that it was not a Roman name. When the new pontiff appeared on the balcony, he broke tradition by addressing the gathered crowd: Dear brothers and sisters, we are saddened at
Pope John Paul II (miniseries) Pope John Paul II (miniseries) Pope John Paul II is a 2005 television miniseries dramatizing the life of Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła) from his early adult years in Poland to his death at age 84. The miniseries was written and directed by John Kent Harrison and aired in the United States on the CBS network on 4 and 7 December 2005. It was first released in Vatican City on 17 November 2005 and ten days later throughout Italy on Rai 1 Jon Voight portrays an older Karol Wojtyła (after his investiture as pope in 1978), while Cary