Happy (Attempted) Assassination Day

Twenty-five years after activated gunpowder almost cut short a Pope's life in St Peter's Square, how did the Italians mark the anniversary?

You guessed it -- more activated gunpowder.

...and more still. Not to mention balloons in the colors of John Paul II's coat of arms.

Earlier in the day, with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima brought in from the Portugal shrine especially for the event, Cardinal Ivan Dias of Bombay presided at a procession in St Peter's Square. Then, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the vicar for Rome, celebrated Mass in the Basilica.

And, of course, the night closed off with the glow of fireworks while, in Scotland, the UK's first statue of the late Pope was unveiled.


PHOTOS 1, 4: AP/Pier Paolo Cito
PHOTOS 2, 3: Loggiarazzi

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