After a long recovery he met the Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca and offered forgiveness.

In May 2000 the Vatican revealed that in 1917 three children in Portugal had seen a prophetic vision of the assassination attempt.

This was the so-called third secret of Fatima - kept secret for decades - which was revealed to coincide with a visit by the Pope to the shrine of Fatima. He believed the Virgin of Fatima had saved his life.