Pope John Paul II to be Buried in Place of John XXIII, the "Turkish Pope"

Pope John Paul II spent his 26 years in the Vatican fighting not just spiritual, but political wars as well. The Pope was uncomfortable with the novel "The Da Vinci Code," which in addition to having been translated into 44 languages, had also sold 25 million copies worldwide.
Pope John Paul II will make his final journey on Friday at 11:00 in the morning, when he is buried in the crypt under Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The Pope will be buried in the former resting place of Pope John XXIII, who Pope John Paul II had annointed in 2000 as a saint, and who was also known as "the Turkish Pope."
While the Catholic world is mourning, the cardinals are preparing for the funeral mass on Friday. Vatican spokesman Navarro-Valla announced that in all likelihood, the Pope will be buried in the former resting place of Pope John XXIII, whose corpse was transferred to a different location. Pope John XXIII, whose name was Angello Guiseppe Roncalli, had, before becoming Pope in his time, spent 9 years in Istanbul on official church duty. Roncalli was seen as a friend of the Turks, and letters written to the Papal Ministries at this time were full of praise for him by Turkish allies. Following his death, he became remembered as "the Turkish Pope."
Who Was the Turkish Pope?
Born in Italy in 1881, Angello Guiseppe Roncalli was educated at the Papal Ministries in Rome. During World War II, Roncalli became legendary for his work for the Papal Ministry in both Turkey and Greece. In trying to get news of war prisoners to their families, he put his life into grave danger over and over again. What legendized Roncalli were the transit visas he was able to obtain through the Papal Delegation for Jewish families stuck in war regions, families which, were it not for his intervention, would have inevitably wound up in the concentration camps set up by the Nazis. When he was transferred to France in 1944 as a Vatican ambassador, Roncalli focused his energies on peace efforts. And with the death of Pope Pius in October 1958, Roncalli came to be Pope John XXIII. In the 2000, Pope John Paul II sainted him.
They Won't Send His Heart
Polish officials were hoping that the Pope would have wanted to be buried in his native Krakow, Poland. Said Krakow Mayor Jacek Majchrowski, "We wanted to have the greatest Pole buried in Wawel. But we must respect the church's decision on this matter." Apparently, some Poles believed that even if the Pope were to be buried in Vatican City, that John Paul II's heart might be sent to his native Krakow for interrment. But this has not been the decision coming forth from the Vatican in the matter.