John Paul II

yes, he did speak English. However, he was very talented not only he spoke English but he also spoked other 13 languages including his national language which is polish.

Benedict's favorite works of music are Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Clarinet Quinte.

Pope John Paul II name is Karol Jozef Wojtyla.

Pope John Paul II made 104 trips outside of Italy, more than all 263 previous popes combined. In total he logged more than 725,000 miles.

There are two Pope John Pauls: the name of the first before he became pope was Albino Luciani. The more more famous John Paul II's baptismal name was Karol Wojtyla. Benedict XVI's was Joseph Ratzinger. Like a woman who takes her husband's name upon marriage, the new pope takes a religious name which then becomes his "real" name from that point onwards although when the pope signs legal documents he likely must sign his birth name since other religious, like monks and nuns who take religious names, must use their birth names on secular, legal documentation.

Please specify which of the 266 popes you are referring to.

Pope Benedict XVI

yes bt only if the are older than 2 but younger than 6 and never on a Sunday

Pope's are elected by a conclave of cardinals voting for a candidate. Cardinal Karol Wojtyła was chosen on October 16, 1978. He took the name John Paul II.

Just a quick addition: He was elected after the 33 day papacy of Pope John Paul I who died suddenly in his sleep due to complications of an undiagnosed heart condition (it's considered by some that John Paul I died from a heart attack). 1978 is sometimes referred as the "Year of 3 Popes" because Pope Paul VI (elected in 1963) led the Church until his death in the summer, than the first conclave elected Cardinal Albino Luciani as Pope John Paul I, followed by the second conclave in October elected Cardinal Karol Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II who closed out the year and reigned until 2005.

On the coat of arms of John Paul II is the letter M, symbolizing the Virgin Mary. For an image of the seal click here.

She died in childbirth in 1929.

The tradition of the popes wearing red shoes were carried over from the customs of ancient Rome itself. In fact, by the time of the Byzantine Empire only three people are allowed to officially wear red shoes in the empire: the Emperor, the Empress, and the Pope. Even in art, depictions of people wearing red shoes are severely restricted to the above-mentioned or the angels.

During ancient times, the manner and style of dress signified and symbolized rank, heritage, group or cultural affiliations, status, also of privilege. This was more true then than it is now. The manner and style of a person identifies him. For example, during the Yuan dynasty, only the Khan can wear green under pain of death. And during the Ching/Manchu dynasty only the Emperor can wear the Imperial yellow.

The toga, for example, was exclusively worn only by Roman citizens. The toga praetexta, furthermore, can only be worn by magistrates as this was a symbol of his office and rank. The republican senators wore red shoes, as did the Roman patricians. This custom was carried over from even before the Roman Empire, and before the Roman Republic tracing it back to the Kingdom of Rome. Thus this manner and custom of privilege of footwear is very ancient.

By the time of the Edict of Milan in 313 under Constantine the Great, Christianity was finally tolerated and the status of the Church enhanced throughout the Roman Empire. It was around this time that the bishops received the privilege of wearing the purple - a privilege still seen today. It was around this time after the toleration of Christianity and the transfer and donation of the imperial Lateran palace and Lateran basilica to the Bishop of Rome, (Pope Miltiades) and to the Church that privileges of imperial rank and imperial status are crystallized in the manner of footwear. Thus this privilege of red shoes can be (circumstantially, since firsthand written historical or archeological evidence have since been lost or destroyed by successive waves of barbarian pillage and destruction and looting during wars) traced at this point. The ancient Roman custom has now become Christian.

When the capital was transfered to Constantinople in 330, by political necessity the then suffragan bishopric of Byzantium was raised to an archbishopric. It was around this time that aspirations to greater status by the Archbishop of Constantinople becomes evident. Although only Rome, Antioch and Alexandria were patriarchates, by 381 a canon was inserted (and refused by the Popes) to establish the Archbishop of Constantinople as Patriarch. Political vicissitudes under the patronage of the Emperor, notably after 451 would later impress the status quo we have today by creating the Patriarchates of Constantinople and of Jerusalem. It was only after the Council of Florence in the 15th century that the Roman Church accepted the status quo of the Pentarchy. Although the Patriarchs of Constantinople have a history of trying to usurp authority and privilege during the Byzantine Empire, nevertheless, the ancient Roman privilege of red shoes were never extended nor granted to the Patriarch of Constantinople or anybody else in the Empire - a fact that remains to this day in life and iconography.

There has never been a pope named John Paul VI.

He was the youngest of three children of Karol Wojtyłaand Emilia Kaczorowska.His elder sister Olga had died before his birth, but he was close to his brother Edmund, nicknamed Mundek, who was 13 years his senior. Edmund's work as a physician eventually led to his death from scarlet fever. (WIKIpedia)

Pope John Paul II added to the rosary the Luminous mysteries. These mysteries recall the life of Jesus before the Passion. They are prayed on Thursdays and any day especially devoted to recalling one of them. They are 1. the Baptism in the Jordan 2. The wedding feast at Cana 3. The proclamation of the kingdom 4. the Transfiguration and 5. the Institution of the Eucharist.

He took down the British in the ship Providence