The Papacy: Quiz Yourself!

In celebration of the millenium, Pope John Paul II made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, with visits to biblical sites including Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In 24 years as Pope, (October 1978) John Paul has become the most traveled leader in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. How well do you know this popular Pontiff and his office?

Try this quiz by Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don't Know Much About the Bible?

( Answers below.)

1. Who was the first Pope?

2. What distinction does John Paul II hold that no other predecessor had for 450 years?

3. The Pope is head of what political state?

4. In 1984, the United States restored diplomatic relations with the Vatican. How long ago did Congress end that relationship?

5. What biblical site in modern-day Iraq did Saddam Hussein refuse to let the Pope visit?

1. St. Peter

2. He isn't Italian. He is Polish, the former archbishop of Krakow.

3. Vatican City, created as an independent state in 1929. Entirely surrounded by Rome, it covers just 108 acres.

4. An 1868 law denied funds for an embassy to the Vatican after the church lost most of its political power during the unification of Italy.

5. The ancient city of Ur, the traditional birthplace of the patriarch Abraham. In lieu of visiting, Pope John Paul II, at the Vatican, made     a "spiritual pilgrimage" to Ur in a special ceremony that included Bible readings, prayer and a film of the site.