May 13, 1981. That day the pope was to die. What made him survive the attack? What was the point of his suffering? And who was behind the bomber? It's high time to find the answers to these questions!
Pulled the trigger. The Browning HP pistol responded - it launched a nine-millimeter bullet that traveled at three hundred and fifty meters per second. Invisible to the human eye. The pilgrims who were in St. Peter's Square heard a terrible bang. And then the second. Third bullet did not come out of the barrel ...
The whole world froze when gunshots shook the main square of the Vatican on May 13, 1981. Will John Paul II live? - this dramatic question was on the lips of millions of believers in every latitude.
On the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions, which announced the death of the "bishop clothed in white", we can relive these chilling events thanks to the accounts of those who were then closest to John Paul II and the assassination attempt.
In the book by Jacek Tacik entitled "Assassination. John Paul II - May 13, 1981. Conspiracy. Investigation. Confession "tells about them, inter alia Mehmet Ali Ağca, who fired shots in St. Peter's Square on this May day 36 years ago. Jacek Tacik persuaded him to talk for several years and until the last moment he was not sure whether the meeting with the bomber would actually take place. Managed to. The author of "Assassination" was the second Pole after the Pope to talk about the events of 1981 with a Turkish killer.
You can read about all of this in the book by Jacek Tacik entitled “Assassination. John Paul II - May 13, 1981. Conspiracy. Investigation. Confession ”(Wydawnictwo Literackie 2017).
Ağca is not the only hero and narrator of this story, however. Eyewitnesses were allowed to speak - from Cardinal Dziwisz, the papal secretary at the time, through Sister Letizia Giudici, who detained the escaping bomber, shot victims and their families, to doctors who saved the life of the injured Pope.
There are also interviews with controversial figures:General Wojciech Jaruzelski, Bishop. John Magee, the Pope's second secretary, once accused by the media of the murder of John Paul I, or Father Konrad Hejmo, accused of betraying John Paul II. Jacek Tacik also talks to Lech Wałęsa and Italian investigators (Rosario Priore and Ilario Martella) and judges who investigated the attack and now reveal the backstage of the investigation.
Like a fierce investigator, the author recreated the most important details. He has been working on this book for over three years. He covered forty-five thousand kilometers, traversed three continents, made hundreds of phone calls, did research, compared details, and did not avoid difficult and uncomfortable questions.
The author of the book Jacek Tacik.
The strength of the story he creates are different points of view, interlocutors coming from different social strata, taking different positions and recalling the attack through the prism of their own experiences, fears and contacts with John Paul II. These are not only memories of the attack, but also their private life. For each of these twenty-six people, the truth has a different face. This makes "Zamach" fascinating reading!
As a journalist, I envy Jacek Tacik of all these meetings and conversations. He's done a lot of work. And he gave the readers a fascinating, moving book, from which it is difficult to tear yourself away. And unfortunately written by life itself.
Katarzyna Kolska, "On the way"
JACEK TACIK He started at the Wrocław branch of "Gazeta Wyborcza". He left for Turin, where he worked in the academic radio. From there, he moved to Warsaw:Polsat, Polsat News, TVP Info and "Wiadomości" TVP1. He has published in Tygodnik Powszechny, Nowe Media and Press. He has been associated with TVN24 since 2016. He reported on the conflict about the abdication of Benedict XVI, the conclave and the election of Pope Francis, the beatification and canonization of John Paul II, as well as the pilgrimage of Francis to the Holy Land. More information can be found on Jacek Tacik's website.
You will find it all in one book:
