Rome, 13 May 1981, a Wednesday. Pope John Paul II drives in open vehicles during a general audience through the waiting crowd of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. Suddenly dropped three shots.
A native of Poland Pope, who in a few days of his 61st Will celebrate a birthday, collapses hit by three bullets, is held by his bodyguards.
One of the bullets fired from a nine-millimeter Browning, has penetrated the abdominal wall below the navel, injured several bowel loops before they close beside the spine again to escape. Gold-plated, the Pope will make them later on a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Fatima as a gift.
But until that happens, he is struggling for weeks with death, must be multiple surgeries. The papal bodyguards Camillo Cibin is one of the few to keep the mess at St Peter's Square in the overview. Quickly, he identified the shooter: the 23-year-old, coming from eastern Anatolia Turkish Mehmet Ali Agca.
Immediately, the question is asked about the motive. The pope had many enemies: his election heralded the demise of the Soviet bloc. For the former Archbishop of Cracow was the spiritual source from which Poland's striking workers in the fight against the communist system drew its strength. That would be enough to make the Pope the Kremlin's enemy number one.
But the world wondered why a right-wing extremist, criminal record, shot to Islam alienated Turk on John Paul II? It started the big guessing game about the person Ali Agca, which continues until the day of his release from prison and is fired by Turks with new and adventurous assertions.
It is clear that the bomber of the ultra-nationalist Turkish organization "Gray Wolves" has been heard and had already killed a journalist in Turkey. For this he was in prison, but had been released from like-minded Turkish military. Sentenced by an Italian court after 19 years in prison and pardoned Agca was then re-nine years in an Istanbul prison.
For the new phase of life has the now 52-year-old Mehmet Ali Agca made a lot - but above all he wants to be rich. For exclusive interviews and two books, he asked the Sunday Times seven million U.S. dollars. Allegedly lying to him more than 50 film and book deals from all over the world. Whether someone actually pays millions, may be doubted, because promises to the Turk, "to proclaim the end of the world and to write the perfect gospel" to. That sounds confused.
An honest answer to the question of why he wanted to shoot 29 years ago, the Pope is not, however, expect from him. "The assassination is linked to the third secret of the Virgin of Fatima. I am the reincarnation of Christ. I announce the end of the world, "he once talked nonsense.
Now he wants to emigrate to Poland. The accomplished already in prison conversion to Catholicism, he wants to celebrate with much pomp - in St. Peter's Square in Rome. In the heart of the Eternal City, where he nearly killed God's deputy.
