Did you know Saint John Paul II survived an assassination attempt in Saint Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981–the feast of Our Lady of Fatima?
Saint John Paul II credited his providential survival to the miraculous hand of Our Lady, saying, “One hand shot, and another guided the bullet.”
This attempt on his life gave us the blood-stained undershirt he was wearing–now a relic the Church preserves and venerates in Rome.
The Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul preserve this important relic at the Regina Mundi Figlie Della Carità house in Rome. People without resources, single mothers, and immigrants go to this home for help.
The house is also a pilgrimage site, preserving Saint John Paul II’s blood-stained undershirt. It is viewable upon request.
“You can still see the pope’s blood stains on the relic, and you can make out three distinct holes,” Sister Maria Rosario of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul told Rome Reports.“They are holes caused by bullets. Not because there were three bullets, but since the shirt was folded over itself, because of how he was standing.”
Sister Maria also explained how the relic came to them: through
