May 13th, 1981 - In an assassination attempt, Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca shoots the Pope twice in the stomach during a public audience in St Peter's Square. The original wounds and subsequent infection may have undermined his long-term health.
July 1992 - The Pope has a benign cancerous tumour, "as large as an orange", removed from his colon.
November 11th, 1993 - He falls and dislocates his shoulder at the end of a private audience with UN executives.
April 28th, 1994 - He slips and falls in his bathroom, breaking his right femur and subsequently requiring hip replacement surgery. He has never since walked soundly.
1996 - He undergoes an operation for appendicitis.
1998 - For the first time, Vatican spokesman Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls concedes that the Pope has a nerve disorder, similar to Parkinson's Disease.