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 bibliography name was Karol Wojtyla. The following is a list of plays written by Pope John Paul II. The following is a list of books of poetry written by Pope John Paul II. The following is a list of audio recordings produced by Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II issued 14 Papal encyclicals during his reign as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church for over 26 years, from his election on 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005. Encyclicals (from Latin "encyclia", from the Greek "en kyklo, ", meaning "general" or "encircling") were originally circular letters