Pope John Paul II was shot on this day in 1981 in a failed assassination attempt, in St. Peter’s Square, a popular gathering place in Vatican City. The assailant, a 23-year-old Turkish man, hit the pope twice — once in the abdomen and once in the left hand — and injured two others. The crowd surrounding the pope then knocked the attempted assassin to the ground, holding him until law enforcement arrived. The pope was in surgery for over five hours. In an act of grace, the Polish pontiff forgave the young man who shot him, Mehmet Ali Agca, while still in hospital. The next year, he met with Agca in prison to offer his forgiveness in person.
Nowadays, the pope rides through crowds with a little more protection. After the assassination attempt, bulletproof glass was added to enclose him as a standard measure. You may not know that the popemobile is not a single vehicle — it changes depending on where he makes his appearances. John Paul II, for his part, rode in military and cargo trucks, several luxury SUVs, and some pickup trucks. His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, was most often seen in a Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV, while Pope Francis pulled back on the luxury to ride along in smaller cars like a Ford Focus and a Renault 4 that he drove himself. The current pope, Leo XIV, rides in a customized, electric Benz G-Class with a glass canopy he can stand in (still bulletproof, though).
You can learn more about the assassination attempt and the (very odd) Agca in this History.com article.
