Mother Mary Holding John Paul II In Her Arms When He Was Shot

John Paul n Mother Mary

Mother Mary holding John Paul II in Her arms when he was shot in 1981.

(click on the picture for original sized image)

This happened on May 13, 1981. Pope John Paul II was shot as he arrived in St. Peter’s Square to speak to the people who had gathered there. When he was shot, he was holding the rosary, which he always carried. When he fell to the ground, out of nowhere, a woman rushed to his side and embraced him. That pic is shown above. The picture is said to have been taken by one of the gathered people who was busy taking Pope’s pics with his camera. The woman vanished as quickly as she appeared.

The gunman was apprehended in the square and sentenced to life in prison. The pope was critically wounded but survived after surgery and a long recovery. The surprising fact is that all the bullets passed just past his vital internal organs. When he recovered finally, the first thing Pope asked for was his rosary. When he got it in his hands, he said that he felt Mother Mary directing the bullets’ path through him. Sure, John Paul II was always in the habit of praying the rosary regularly. He had once said “The best prayer I like is the Rosary”.

Joaquin Navarro Valls, who is the one spokesman from The Vatican, said that they made a lot of studies for years of this incredible picture and of course about the quality of the developing of the picture because when it was developed nobody could see very well because the image was not clear. Finally, and after so many controls and being looking and checking by all the experts in photography (around the world), they decided that there were no tricks in it and today they give us this beautiful gift from our Mother of God. You can see the Mother of God holding John Paul II in her arms. Beautiful right?

I dont know whether You will believe me or not. But many do. And among those who believed, Bishop Thomas Wenski recreated the picture on a glass window at his Florida residence. You can see that below…

pope on glass window

Let this remind us of the awesome power of the intercession of Mother Mary and lead us to take a strong decision to pray the rosary regularly.

85 thoughts on “Mother Mary Holding John Paul II In Her Arms When He Was Shot”

  1. Today, the term “born again” has almost lost it meaning. Just anything can now be born again. We now have born again gangsters, prostitutes, rebel and even politicians.

    2 Corinthians 5:17 says to be born again, you must make Jesus Christ you’re dwelling place and become a brand new creature.

    Your old sinful life-style must go and a life-style of holiness must replace it. Without this, their is no true born again experience. John 3:5-6 says if you are still seeking the things of the flesh, you are yet in the flesh.

    Those in the flesh will be preoccupied with how they dress, what they we wear and how to make dressing impressions. But those in the spirit want to please God.

    If you are remembered by your dressing, you have lost God’s glory. When God’s glory is upon you, nobody will notice what you wear because your face will radiate his glory. Are you born again? How are you known?
    PLEASE SEEK THRU SCRIPTURAL ADVISE,GOD BLESS.

  2. We Indians worship our father and mother and elders.
    So what is wrong if we worship Mary,the mother of God?
    If you believe Jesus is the incarnation of God, then you can and should worship Mary and that worship is ultimately for God and not for Mary the human.

  3. I have to agree that a lot of arguments seen here about the relevance of Mother Mary. Those who are against her, use strong language and those with her are not that much strong. One thing is sure, the Bible can be explained only with the help of Holy Spirit and the true meaning of the Word is reveled to those having the full fillment of Holy Spirit. Those with the Holy Spirit would show off his results. Of course, the revelations of angry people are not through the Holy Spirit. The God is Almighty and he could send his son to the earth directly, without a human womb. Yet, Jesus borne from Mother Mary, according to the plan of the Almighty God to show the mankind a model to follow. What ever in the Bible is with a specific purpose and devine plan. No part of it can be neglected according to the human intellect. Mother Mary was selected as the mother of Jesus by the Holy God himself and the authors of the New Testament was selected by Jesus. The ‘true christians’ who follow the Appostles and rejecting Mother Mary are opposing the God’s plan by neglecting part of the Bible.

  4. John David, it is not right to worship your father or mother or any elders and even Mother Mary, it is similar to worshiping the idols . We can worship and bow down only to our God almighty father and His son our Lord Jesus. The maximum we can do is to ask the intersession of elders and saints.

    And one question: Do you think God will not answer your prayer if you ask him directly. By intersession prayers you can get what you need by the grace of our Lord but you definitely cannot come closer to God and experience his true love. So my friends our God is not a partial God, he does not listen only to the prayers of Mother Mary or saints or any elders but anyone who calls in His name.

    And as in the above picture it might be a normal woman or Mother Mary but whomever it is they are sent from God. As it is said God will send his angels to protect you, in the same way He has protected him. So all praise and all thanks be to God forever

  5. Im very new here,but ur effort in this website is praisable,,God wil help u to do more things.. How can i down load that good songs from ur site plz.

  6. Regarding the Blessed Mother’s title, “Mother of God,” please understand that this title is a logical expression of our belief about the divine and human nature of Jesus. When Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, in the womb of Mary, his divine nature became forever fused with his human nature. He was forevermore The God Man…both human AND divine, the two natures inseparable. It follows, then, that we cannot speak of Mary as being only the mother of Jesus’ human nature, but not his divine nature. Therefore, Mary can rightfully be called the Mother of God. This does not mean that she pre-existed God. She is, indeed, a creature, but she was also the mother of Jesus, and his divine and human natures are inseparable. All Catholic doctrine about Mary boils down to our understanding of the nature of her Son. Any title she has, any honor we give to her, is another way of honoring Him. He who told all of us, not just the apostle John, “Behold your mother!” (This statement of Jesus also tells us He had no brothers and sisters, or Mary would have been given over to their care after His death. She is forever virgin.)

  7. Dear George,

    I came across your site when searching for Hindi devotional songs, and I said how nice at such a young age you are serving the lord. But after coming to this page, I wonder if you are taking the right path. Jesus mother Mary needed some one to help her so when he was on the cross, he told one of his disciple John to look after her. She is not considered god and we are not to pray to her. I sincerely pray that you search the bible for the real truth

  8. hello georgy,
    JESUS IS LORD AND NOT GOD, GOD IS SUPPOSE TO BE THE FATHER AND JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD THATS
    WHY HE IS KNOWN AS LORD AND NOT GOD,IFOUND A
    COMMENT THAT YOU WERE AGREEING THAT JESUS IS GOD.
    SO JUST TO CLEAR THE DOUBT, BUT I AM ALSO NOT VERY WELL VERSED IN THE BIBLE, I AM A MASTER MARINEER
    (SHIPS CAPTAIN)NOT APRIEST, JUST A FRIENDLY COMMENT FROM ME THANKS AND BYE

  9. My daughter shreya remains busy looking pics of popes,cardinals & bishops of different times. This beautiful pic of Mother Mary and Pope john Paul II makes her to sing “maria tujhe pranam…tujhe pranam” spontaneuosly. And I can’t but join her in singing this beautiful song. Really ….our Mother is great.

  10. What a saving mother and a sweet one @ that. Thank you Lord. May his soul and the soul of the faithful rest in perfect peace, amen.

  11. hmm as a ex catholic I know and understand the longtime debate of the Deity of Mary. However it seems to me the Mary was Blessed by god to bear the son of GOd .. but she was a Sinner like us all …when she said unto the angel who appeared to her ….I rejoice in God my SAVIOUR …she needed saving like us all .The Lord jesus is our only way to the father he said it ….I beleive it ….thats enough God bless u all

  12. Hi CastheKiwi — One of the things you will find is true of all Catholic beliefs about the Blessed Mother is that they all point to Jesus, and what we believe about Him. Yes, indeed, Mary needed a savior like the rest of us. But because the Son of God, who is the essence of goodness, purity and truth, could not become incarnate in the womb of a sinful woman, Mary was SAVED from the stain of original sin at the moment of her conception: thus the Church’s doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. By being SAVED from original sin, Mary was able to become a pure and sinless vessel, befitting her Son, who is the eternal Son of God. I heard it explained this way once: Imagine that there is a deep pit concealed along a path, and a woman walking along the path falls into the pit. A man comes along and pulls her out of the pit, after she falls in; he has saved her from the pit. Another woman approaches, and the man stops her from falling into the pit. Has he saved the second woman? Of course, he has saved her, he just did it BEFORE she fell in. So Jesus is indeed Mary’s savior. However, she was saved BEFORE becoming tainted with original sin, due to the anticipated merits her Son would gain for her from the cross. God bless.

  13. how many really of you here have really really deeply profoundly finished reading the Bible?? Everyone here seems to know it all when everytime I read the Bible all I can see is our INFIRMITIES.. So many questions that no one can answer not even you or me..but the Word of God alone..

    1. Why do people break away from the true bride of Christ after all? (see the outcome now? DIVISION)
    2. But why do we,Catholics,need images of Jesus or God when you can put HIM in your heart and not in your eyes? Also, structures of saints when God himself said never make any images of anything in heavens or on earth..(Deut 5)WHY???

    We are all unworthy!! so stop pointing fingers to each other and feel the need of presence of God..In that we can know which path to take..We should help each other..No one is higher compared to the other here.. We are all equal,those who found Him.. So don’t make yourself wiser than the other.

    Stop arguing, we should be united in the name of Jesus..

  14. Regarding God saying not to make images, I believe He was referring to images that would be worshipped as gods (like the golden calf), not images of holy beings or people that we may venerate (that is, HONOR, not worship)as a result of their example of piety and faithfulness to God. After all, right after God commanded the Israelites not to make any “graven images,” He instructed them about how to fashion the Ark of the Covenant, and the instructions included images of cherubim (angels).

  15. hmmm.. i really can’t understand why there is a need for carved images..IT CAN MISLEAD people you know, i’ve seen so many people in our church who touches the images and bow down to them.. God doesn’t want that, it’s in the Bible..hmmm..He is a jealous God in terms of that..

    i’m so sorry, i’m a catholic but it is the one thing i questioned now about us..When i read the Bible, i started to fear..hmmm..Isaiah 40:18 “To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble Him?”.. isn’t it enough that we should stop this images and focus to put Him in our hearts..FEEL THE REAL HIM?? We made Him less because of this images.. Our Jesus is more than these and nothing can resemble Him.. agree? Can you get me? He is real and not this stuff.. And also, try to look closely at different carved Jesus in our church,it has different faces..If you were Him would you be happy that people resembles you in different faces?..I THINK ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS REALLY SEEK HIM, AND AFTER THAT YOU CAN REALLY FEEL THAT THESE CARVED IMAGES ARE USELESS and i can’t even look at these images in our church now..coz i feel Him real now.. I mean i didn’t say that i don’t feel in relationship with Him before but now it’s something really REAL..more REAL..after i started reading deeply the Bible.. I WANT YOU TO MEDITATE THIS ONE AND NOT JUST TRY TO DEFEND OUR CHURCH.. be open-minded with the Bible open with the help of the Holy Spirit.. ok? i also want to accept corrections.. but please also don’t just say “Its ok, if you see there’s something wrong” Thank you everyone.. I love you my brothers and sisters that’s why i’m saying this to you..

  16. Hello sssshhhh…Here is my understanding of the issue. God created us, and it was his Holy Will that we were created as flesh-and-blood beings, in addition to spiritual ones (our eternal souls). The human person is a combination of body/spirit, and will be for eternity. (After all, we believe in the resurrection of the body at the end of the world. Our souls will be reunited with our bodies for eternity.)

    When God made the world and everything in it, including men and women, he declared it to be “good.” So the created, material world is good, because God declared it to be so. Even though Adam and Eve brought death into the world through sin, that does not change the fact that God CHOSE to create a physical, material world filled with physical, material beings.

    God had so much love and respect for this world he created, and the flesh-and-blood beings who inhabit it, that His only Son TOOK ON FLESH and DWELT AMONG US, that we might be saved.

    When Jesus was here on Earth, not only did He preach to us about things we cannot see (God, heaven, angels, etc.) but he often made use of the physical world and our five senses in order to help us understand spiritual realities. For instance, when Jesus healed the blind man, he made a paste of mud and spittle and put it on the man’s eyes, and then told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam, and the main regained his sight. Had he wanted to, Jesus certainly could have simply said to the man, “Be healed,” and he man would have been healed. But Jesus understood that it is good for flesh-and-blood beings to have a physical sign of a spiritual reality, in order to help us believe. The culmination of this practice by Jesus is, of course, the Eucharist, in which Jesus CHOOSES to become present–body, blood, soul and divinity–in what appears to our senses to be bread. Ours is an incarnational faith.

    Therefore, I do not believe images of the saints, or even images of Jesus–no matter how imperfect they may be in comparison to His true glory–are offensive to God. Indeed, they help us–poor, lowly physical beings that we are–to raise our minds to higher things and keep God always in our hearts and minds. (After all, “out of sight, out of mind” is a well-used phrase for a reason: it’s true. We tend to forget about that which we do not see before us on a regular basis.)

    Statues, crucifixes and images of the saints serve as holy reminders of spiritual realities that we can hardly comprehend in this life. But they are a great help to us in our jouney of faith, and we would be poorer souls without them.

  17. Mother Mary is the Mother of all mankind. At the foot of the cross on that day, there stood St. John, the beloved disciple of Jesus. Jesus turned to him and said ‘Behold, your mother’ and to His Mother ‘Behold your son’.

    Whoever loves Jesus, whoever is beloved to Him and stands steadfast in faith becomes fortunate to be blessed with the gift of God – Mother Mary, who is full of grace, and the Holy Spirit. Remember, Jesus once talked of being born again?

    See how a child is born. No doubt, through mother. I claim that I am a child of God. It is my right and at the same time my duty to born again. How can I born again if I forget and deny the motherhood of Mary? The last words of Jesus on the Cross is worthy to be remembered always, by every Christian. Jesus gives us the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven through these words.

    And those words are full of promise and a man of wisdom can find the depth of love God has for mankind.

  18. The story behind this beautiful picture, which has been around for several years by the way, (the picture that is)seems a bit removed from facts. I have no problem with the picture, but the facts behind it.

    First of all, When Pope John Paul II was shot at St. Peter’s square, he was in his Popemobile. In the videos of the incident of his shooting, he was in the popemobile surrounded by men. There was no woman who came to his aid…nor did the pope fall to the ground as the story suggests. He collapsed into the arms of his secretary (a priest) and then the popemobile sped away to the hosptial.

    While a photo of the pope just after being shot and before he collapsed, could, when developed reveal a “miracle” image of Our Lady holding/embracing John Paul II…I just question the story explaining how it came about. I say “could” because as we all know, nothing is impossible with God.

  19. No he is in Hell. And so would you of you follow him. Watch 23 hours dead. Really Mary? So what God isn’t good enuf for you people? What’s wrong with you ? Mary is just a women, that’s it just a regular women! John Paul II never spoke the whole truth! he acted as if he was God. He stole money from the church. And wasted money on expensive cloths and houses. Stop idolizing Mary and don’t give excuses saying it’s for respect you people clearly bow down to her read exodus. It clears says not to bow down to anything in the likes of heaven or earth. Mary is in heaven.

    Satan is clearly working in the catholic church. Be Christian.

  20. hey! beloveds sisters and brothers in christ, i am new to this site but it is worth to see what you learn from here. i rarely see a person exploring how stupid or ignorant he is, but most people think that they know much about what they dont know. let me tell you one thing, the bible has gone through the hands of the holy church, the “roman catholic church” for centuries. and mind you guys the book was not a single one as per se, its a collection of holy writings sorted through the hands of people under the divine mercy of God. i have read all the comments above and i think some of us think that the bible was handed over to the saints as it is. the catholic faith is in that accord, aware of what God needs his church to teach. we are not allowed to call anyone father, ask you? why call your biological father “a father”? enlightment in the faith needs Jesus assistance. get that men of God. Be blessed…..
    holy Mary pray for those who deny your role in salvation. amen!

  21. First: Anything is possible with God.
    Second: Catholics do NOT worship the BVM, they identify with her sacrifice, obedience, and passion that she endured when her Son, our Lord Jesus the Christ was tortured, condemned and Crucufied. To Worhip anyone or anything besides the Holy Trinity is heresy and a mortal sin.
    Lastly: There is NO INTERCESSION between God and Man except the Lord Jesus!
    Mary has NOTHING to do with our Salvation which was a free gift from God the Father to restore us through Him by the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and that was the freely given only begotten Son , Jesus. Mary was the spotless vessel to hold and nurture the Messiah, and was the Mother of Jesus, who is GOD. So…I hope that the Church and other readers would realize the Marion Theology is not required of Catholics to get them into heaven, but rather the Belief of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ, and our confession of our sins, and accepting the forgiveness for our sins by the shedding of the most Precious Blood Of Christ. God Bless you in the Name of Jesus the Christ, our Brother, and Saviour.

  22. There seems to be confusion over many things.
    I remind all that our God is NOT a God of Confusion, but of a Sound Mind! Satan, the adversary of all who believe in Jesus the Christ, our Lord, loves to cause doubt, confusion, and division!

    Many doctrines of the Church are misconstrued as being the Word of God; traditions in the Church are misunderstood, and many things are questionable throughout Church history. However, there is only ONE WAY TO HEAVEN and that is through Jesus, the Christ, the Saviour, Son of God, Son of Man! NO other intercessor is needed between God and Man but Christ, Jesus! Not my words, but it is in the Gospel, which is the WORD of GOD.

    Both Old Testament in Joel, and the New Testament in all the Gospels tell us that:
    “WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.” That name is JESUS!

    Don’t let your heart’s be troubled, have Faith in God and have Faith in Me (Jesus’ Word in the Gospel of John 14:1).

    Please allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your hearts, and guide you as you read the Sacred Scriptures, then you will have the Peace that surpasses ALL Understanding, in the Name of Jesus! Amen!

    May all who read this, and read the Word, be Blessed in the Name of Christ, Jesus!

  23. I like the art; it’s all spiritual and stuff,, I think arguing about signs just shows how immature you are in your spiritual walk. I doubt God would feel insecure about you failing to believe in his existance or have to resort to sending Mary on errands to get people’s attention. The whole vibe about Catholics worhipping Mary is exhausting. Stop yapping and just read your Bible. We are in the end times and I’m pretty sure Mary isn’t gonna get you through the Pearly gates.

  24. Once again, I remind everyone that Satan is a Liar, and he is the influence that causes confusion, arguments, disention, heresy,etc., anything that is not LOVE, and LIFE!

    Not one of us is worthy of the GRACE of GOD, but we are made worthy by the shed Blood of Christ, and that was out of LOVE.

    Let us LOVE ONE ANOTHER, Look at everything you see, including this post, through the eyes of Perfect Love! If we look through our eyes in the spirit of Love, then we shall see everything as Jesus sees: NO CONDEMNATION, just LOVE.

    God Bless you all through our Lord Jesus Christ by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

  25. Let us all read the Word of God.. it is the light, it is the truth.. anything out from it is all LIE.. Read it with a prayer so that your wisdom and knowledge will come from the Holy Spirit.. Glory to God in Jesus’ name..

  26. Mothermary is chosen by GOD to become mother of Jesus, which itself is a great grace.

    She was with Jesus from beginning to end.
    she offered her son willingly to die on the cross for you n me. she suffered all the pain by seeing her son tortured n facing a cruel death.
    Its unfortunate that Today many christians dont even respect her.

    Mary played a great for the salvation of mankind.she obeyed the word of GOD.

    This is the ultimate truth – believe it or not.

  27. Hi All,
    Bible says Mary was blessed among all women. Why? Because God knew she was the apt vessel that can bring forth His Son and hence, she got the opportunity to give birth to Jesus. She is to be respected as a good and God-fearing woman.

    But does Bible teach us that Mary is the mediator between God and us and she intercedes on behalf of us? It does not. Therefore, let us not consider her as our mediator and let us not pray to her. But let us follow her example.

    Bible teaches that there is ‘only one’ mediator between God and men and that is the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5). He is currently playing the role of an High Priest in the heavenly places and is interceding for us. (Heb 4:14-16).

    If anybody needs guidance in understanding the Truth as believed and taught by the early Apostles, may call me at 08951077782. I can speak a little Malayalam and Hindi as well. Just so that all are aware that I myself cannot give any revelation but can only explain with the scriptures. It’s the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, that will reveal all things to you.

  28. Understand why the world is witnessing miracles. I am this Mary that is praying for the ones you are seeing. No, I am not mentally ill either. I am the prophecy. I have suffered greatly. When the statues cried tears of blood, God was showing you proof of a horrible head wound Satanists had inflicted upon me. When you saw my face in the cheese sandwich miracle on EBAY, I was sure God heard my prayer to give me a sign I would live to be an adult. I pray for miracles. So deal with it.

  29. I love Mother Mary. Our Holy mother..She is the Most Precious Gift that our Lord Gave us. I surely believe that our Dearest Pope John Paul survived the attack because of the powerful intercession of our Beloved Mother. But the Picture circulated, which is claimed as a real one is an hoax. I am sure.

  30. it is really very appalling when certain people make some very “lousy” comments. How can someone who claims to be a catholic for 35 years say that ‘catholics are not christians, they are catholics”? She goes on to say that the word “catholic” was never mentioned in the bible, just “christians”. I just cannot believe that someone (who claimed to have been born a catholic) could be so ignorant. The word “catholic” simply means ‘universal”… the universal church, the ONE church. You should have known that simple fact from your basic catholic cathecism! i would say that you should be careful what you say on a site like this so that you don’t look stupid.

  31. It is amazing how christians can nit-pick about this picture. It isn’t a matter of if this picture and story are true, it is what you feel in your heart. I for one was very fond of Pope John Paul II. When I first saw this picture, I cried. He loved Jesus, and loved Mary. The image of Our Lady of Czestochowa holding him is very poignant. She, the Patron Saint of Poland embracing a son of Poland. I think it is lovely and sweet and heartwarming. I hope that when I die, Jesus, Mary, and St. Pope John Paul II will be there to greet me with a warm embrace.

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