1978
October 16: Karol Jozéf Wojtyla is elected the 264th Pope and takes the name of John Paul II in honour of his immediate, short-reigned predecessor, John Paul I.

1979
January 25: First overseas pastoral visit to Santo Domingo, Mexico and the Bahamas. March 15: First encyclical, Redemptor Hominis.
April 28: Archbishop Agostino Casaroli appointed Secretary of State.
June 2-10: First pastoral visit to Poland.
September 29: Historic visit to Ireland. October 2: Addresses UN General Assembly.

1980
May 2-12: First visit to Africa takes in Zaire, Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ghana, Upper Volta and Ivory Coast
August 20: For first time publicly expresses concern about events in Poland.

1981
January 16: Receives Solidarity leader Lech Walesa in a Vatican audience.
May 13:Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca severely wounds him in an assassination attempt just prior to his weekly public audience in St Peter's Square. He undergoes a six-hour operation in Rome's Gemelli Hospital and is hospitalised for 22 days.
June 20:Infection forces him to undergo second operation and he remains hospitalised until mid-August.
November 25:German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

1982
May 28-June 2: Pastoral visit to Britain includes ecumenical celebrations with Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie. June 7: Pope receives US President Ronald Reagan in a Vatican audience.
September 15: Pope receives Yassar Arafat in audience.

1983
December 27: Meets with Ali Agca in Rome prison and extends forgiveness.
1985 February 19: Receives Israeli Prime Minister Simon Peres in audience.

1986
April 13: John Paul II becomes first Pope to visit Rome's synagogue.
October 27: Convenes first World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi.

1987
July 8: For the first time takes a summer holiday in the Dolomites.

1988
February 19: Encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis released.
August 15: Apostolic Letter on women, Mulieris Dignitatem, released.

1989
September 29: Receives and prays with Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Runcie. December 1: Receives USSR President, Mikhail Gorbachev.

1990
December 1: Accepts resignation of Cardinal Casaroli as Secretary of State, appointing Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

1991
January 15: Sends letters to Presidents Bush and Hussein in bid to stop Gulf War. November 28: Special Synod for Europe.

1992
January 1: Holy See recognises Russian Federation.
January 13: Holy See recognises Croatia and Slovenia.
May 17: Beatification of founder of Opus Dei, José Maria Escriva de Balaguer.
July 12: Undergoes surgery at Rome's Gemelli Hospital for removal of benign colon tumour. Hospitalised for 14 days.

1993
October 5: Encyclical Veritas Splendor released.

1994
April 10-May 8: Special Synod for Africa convened.
April 29: Falls and breaks his right femur and is hospitalised for four weeks.
June 15: Diplomatic relations between Holy See and Israel established.
October 20: His book, Crossing The Threshold of Hope, is published.
1995 May 30: Encyclical Ut Unum Sint issued.
1996 October 6: Undergoes surgery at Gemelli Hospital for appendicitis.
November 13: Addresses opening session of UN World Food Summit in Rome.
November 19: Receives Cuban President Fidel Castro in audience.

1997
April 12: Pastoral Visit to Sarajevo.

1998
January 21-26: Pastoral Visit to Cuba.
April 19-May 14: Special Synod For Asia.
June 18: Receives South African President Nelson Mandela.
October 15: Encyclical Fides et Ratio released.
November 22-December 12: Special Synod for Oceania.

1999
May 2: Beatification of Padre Pio.
December 24: Opens the Holy Door of St Peter's to inaugurate the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.

2000
March 12: Day of Pardon of the Holy Year 2000.
March 20-26: Jubilee pilgrimage to Holy Land. August 15-20: World Youth Day at Tor Vergata, Rome, attended by more than two million young people.

2001
May 4: Jubilee pilgrimage in Greece, Syria and Malta in the footsteps of St Paul the Apostle. August 1: 1,000th General Audience of the pontificate.

2002
January 24: Day of Prayer for World Peace at Assisi.
June 15: Padre Pio canonised.
October 6: Opus Dei founder, José Maria Escriva De Balaguer canonised.

2003
January-March: Pope issues series of appeals and mounts diplomatic offensive against military intervention in Iraq.

March 5: Roman Triptych, a book of his poems, is released.
April 17: Encyclical Ecclesia De Eucharistia, on the Eucharist released.
June 5-9: 100th overseas pastoral visit to Croatia.
September 11-14: 102nd overseas pastoral visit to Slovakia.

2004
August 14-15: Lourdes visit.