Batting Pope

This is not the current Pope. It is the Polish Pope John Paul II in 1987 when he was 67 (6 years after surviving an assassination attempt). He made the most of an opportunity to get into a batting cage during a visit to the United States. Apparently he really enjoyed regularly playing baseball in a Vatican League. Even Popes need exercise!





Pope John Paul II was, in his later life, beset with physical ailments - Parkinson's and painful knees and hips. After getting the flu, followed by breathing problems and a urinary tract infection, he died, aged 84, on April 2, 2005, to be succeeded by Pope Benedict and after Benedict's resignation, by Pope Francis, just before Easter this year.