A papacy shadowed by ill-health

May 1981: shot in stomach and hand during assassination attempt in St Peter's Square

May 1981: shot in stomach and hand during assassination attempt in St Peter's Square

July 1992: undergoes surgery to remove intestinal tumour

1992: symptoms of Parkinson's disease appear

November 1993: dislocates shoulder during fall from stairs

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April 1994: suffers broken right thigh bone

December 1995: misses Christmas Mass for the first time because of flu

March and August 1996: cancels public engagements because of fevers of "digestive nature"

October 1996: undergoes surgery to remove appendix

June 1999: cancels open-air Mass in Poland after fall

March 2002: cancels public engagements because of flare-up of arthritis in right knee

September 2003: cancels engagements because of an intestinal ailment

February 2005: has week in hospital after falling ill with flu, readmitted after relapse two weeks later