Pope John Paul II begins his tour of Africa.

John Paul II who was pope of from 1978 until his death in 2005 toured Africa in 1980. The pope spent eleven days and toured five countries, including The DRC, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Ghana and Ivory Coast John Paul was the first non-Italian ever to become pope. He is also known as the pope who was most vocal about human rights and used his influence to effect change. During his trip Paul got to spend time with the Masai of Kenya and met the King of the Ashanti in Ghana.