First...not anymore....
From this blog:
This took us right over the spot on St. Peter's Square where there is a red pophry rock marking the spot where Pope John Paul II was shot. Jeff Kirby had told us about it, but we hadn't been able to find it on any of the previous days, now we were stooped on the ground looking at it (the original stone had drops of blood and was removed, while this stone was put in its place as a marker). When we arose, there was Greg Burke and the Fox News crew getting ready to film a spot about the Italian Parliament's proclamation blaming the Soviet Union for the attach on the late Pontiff's life. "How did you know about that?" Greg asked us. "Thanks to Jeff Kirby."
A new plaque marks the spot:
The story of the day's commemoration from Asia News Italy:
A marble slab bearing the inscription of the coat of arms of John Paul II, and the date, in Roman figures, of the assassination attempt against him – XIII-V-MCMLXXXI – was placed yesterday in St Peter’s square, on the spot where Pope Wojtyla was felled by a bullet fired by Alì Agca 25 years ago. Many events are marked on this day, on which the Church recalls not only the assassination attempt against John Paul II but also the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, whose “maternal hand”, according to the then pontiff, diverted the deadly path of the bullet.
Yesterday, for the third time, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima arrived in Rome; today it will the focus of a procession organized to mark the anniversary of that tragic event. Tonight, it was placed in the private chapel of Benedict XVI.
Around 20,000 pilgrims are expected to turn up for the prayer event. The cortege from Castel Sant’Angelo will be led to the Basilica of St Peter by Cardinal Ivan Dias of Mumbai, India. A pause to recite two prayers – one composed by John Paul II and the other by his then secretary, today a cardinal, Stanislaw Dziwisz – will take place at the place where the assassination attempt took place.
In the afternoon, Cardinal Camillo Ruini will celebrate Mass in the Basilica. At the end, in the square, below the windows of the pope, a fireworks display will be held.
