Modern, IT-savvy pontiff

POPE John Paul II will be remembered as a great communicator not only for his language skills, but also for his use of modern technologies to reach his followers.

John Paul, who used the Vatican’s official website, which launched in 1995, to publish his sermons and speeches, is credited with bringing the Vatican into the information age.

In a speech on World Communications Day in 2002, John Paul said: “For the Church, the new world of cyberspace is a summons to the great adventure of using its potential to proclaim the Gospel message.”