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) Elwes portrays Wojtyła in his earlier life from 1939 to 1978. Voight was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance. "Pope John Paul II" co-stars James Cromwell as Archbishop Adam Stefan Cardinal Sapieha, Ben Gazzara as Agostino Cardinal Casaroli, and Christopher Lee as Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński. Polish actor Mikolaj Grabowski is seen twice playing Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany, who would succeed John Paul II as Pope Benedict XVI. The film opens with Part 1's (December 4) Pope John Paul II assassination attempt on May 13, 1981, then while he is being taken to Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic, flashes