Pilgrims wave as Pope John Paul II passes by in an open-top car on San Peter square 14 October at the Vatican , following his weekly audience. In 20 years as pope, John Paul II has welcomed 13,833,000 pilgrims from across the world during 877 audiences at the Vatican. The Holy see said 13 October that the pope had made 84 overseas trips and 132 visits within Italy, where crowds exceeded 100 million people. The first Slav in the history of the papacy, Karol Wojtyla became pope John Paul II 16 October 1978. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE)