On 16th October 1978 Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, Poland,
was elected the 264th Pope of the Catholic Church and took the
name Pope John Paul II. 

Pope John Paul II visited Ireland on 29th, 30th September and
1st October 1979. Ireland was the third pilgrimage of his
Pontificate. The Holy Father's first visit was to the Dominican
Republic, Mexico and the Bahamas, his second visit was to
Poland and his third visit was to Ireland and the United States.
The full itinerary of his Irish visit, along with audio links
to the Pope's 1979 homilies and speeches in Ireland, are
available at the following link on the Catholic Communications
Office website: www.catholiccommunications.ie/popeireland1979

During his 1979 pilgrimage to Ireland, Pope John Paul undertook
a hectic schedule travelling the country in order to greet the
faithful in the four provinces of Ireland. Over the three days
the Holy Father addressed large crowds in Dublin, Drogheda, 
Clonmacnois, Galway, Knock, Maynooth and Limerick. 

As part of the Irish Bishops' Conference 25th commemoration
celebrations of the 1979 Papal visit to Ireland, the addresses
and homilies delivered by the Holy Father while in Ireland
have been republished by, and are available in, Veritas
bookshops. This publication includes a foreword by Archbishop
Brady, Primate of All Ireland. 

The Holy Father has become the most travelled Pope. To date,
the Holy Father has undertaken 145 trips in Italy, the latest
being Loreto in September 2004, and has undertaken 104 trips
outside Italy, the latest being Lourdes which took place
during August 2004.