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 Photo: Franco Origlia/Getty Images
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS The Pope at 25 Pope John Paul II marked his silver jubilee with a 10-day celebration at the Vatican from October 16 amid concerns over his failing health. A part of the celebrations included the beatification of Mother Teresa. He is only the fourth Pope to have served for 25 years or longer. Thousands thronged the anniversary mass at St Peter's Basilica at 6 pm, which was when Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, Poland, was elected Pope in 1978, the first non-Italian head of the billion-strong Catholic Church in 455 years. The ailing pontiff was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2001, and underwent hip replacement surgery in 1994, besides an appendectomy in 1996 and a shoulder dislocation 1993. John Paul II was named Time magazine's Man of the Year in 1994. According to the BBC, he has traveled the equivalent of 30 times around the Earth visiting 130 countries and territories; spent more than three years away from the Vatican; read more than 19,000 speeches; and beatified 1,319 people and canonized 477 saints -- more than all previous Popes combined! Text: Ramananda Sengupta
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