To many, he is a living legend. To all, he is a giant in moral stature.

He has been seen in person by more people on this planet than any other human being and, on April 30, Pope John Paul II will have added one more number to the already-staggering statistics of his papacy.

On that day, his pontificate will become the fourth longest in history at 24 years, six months and eight days. Of the 264 popes, only St. Peter, whose precise reign is unknown, Blessed Pope Pius IX (who reigned for 31 years and eight months) and Leo XIII (25 years, five months) had longer pontificates.

John Paul is, without a doubt, the most peripatetic Pope in history, having made 98 foreign apostolic trips (Madrid in May is No. 99, and Croatia in June will mark the magical 100), and having traveled more than 1.24 million miles (almost three times the distance to the moon and back). One would need a calculator to total the number of trips taken within Italy (142), speeches given during all of his trips (more than 3,300) documents written, parishes visited in his diocese, consistories held, synods called, beatification and canonization ceremonies celebrated, weekly general audiences, and private meetings with heads of state and government.

To these astonishing figures must be added a number of “firsts.” Pope John Paul II is not only the first Polish Pope ever, he is the first Pope to: E visit a synagogue, in Rome on April 13, 1986.

E visit a mosque, on May 6, 2001, the Omayyad Great Mosque of Damascus, Syria, during his pilgrimage to Greece, Syria and Malta. He was the first Pope ever to visit Malta (his first trip there was in 1990) and the first in 1,000 years to visit Greece.

E hold press conferences on airplanes. At least 50 such conferences were held, as well as one in the Holy See press office to accredited journalists on Jan. 24, 1994, the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists.

E be photographed in slacks, instead of his white papal soutane, during mountain hikes and several times while skiing.

E visit a prison cell, on Dec. 27, 1983, in Rome's Rebibbia prison, when he spoke with Ali Agca, the Turk who made an attempt on the his life in May 1981. The Pope's other visit to a prison was during the Jubilee Year 2000 when he said Mass on July 9 at Regina Coeli prison, wearing vestments made by inmates.

E visit Norway (June 1989) and to celebrate both vespers and Mass in the northernmost Catholic community in the world (Tromso), more than 350 kilometers north of the Arctic Polar Circle—a fact the Pope himself noted in his homily at vespers.

E stay in a hotel during an apostolic trip. During his May 2002 trip to Azerbaijan, the Holy Father, given the lack of an apostolic nunciature (where popes usually stay), lodged at the Irshad Hotel in Baku. For the duration of the Pope's stay, the government conferred the status of a diplomatic seat on the hotel.

E travel to the Arab Republic of Egypt, on Feb. 24, 2000, on his Jubilee pilgrimage to Mt. Sinai, his 90th foreign trip. A month later he made a Jubilee Year pilgrimage to the Holy Land, his first trip there as Pope (though he was not the first pope to visit the Holy Land).

E travel to Cuba, in January 1998. In fairness to the nearly 100 countries the Holy Father has visited, many of them welcomed a pope for the first time. E write a letter to children (December 1994) and a letter to women (July 1995).

E add five new mysteries to the rosary; he added the Luminous Mysteries (Mysteries of Light) on Oct. 16, 2002, the 24th anniversary of his pontificate, when he also called for a Year of the Rosary.

E visit and say Mass in an airport hangar, on Dec. 10, 1992, the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto, patroness and protector of airline personnel. The Pope said Mass in a hangar at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Airport, from where he departs for all his international trips. E administer all seven sacraments: baptism, penance, the Eucharist, confirmation, marriage, holy orders and anointing of the sick, which he usually does on the Feb. 11 celebration of the World Day of the Sick, which he personally instituted.

E publish books of prose and poetry: Crossing the Threshold of Hope (October 1994), Gift and Mystery: On the 50th Anniversary of my Priestly Ordination (November 1996) and Roman Triptych (March 2003).

E use a letter—“M” for Mary—on his papal crest. Normally the rules of heraldry forbid the use of words or letters on a crest; they can surround it but not appear on it. John Paul wanted “M” for Mary (his motto, Totus tuus, is dedicated to Mary), so, in a sense, he rewrote the rules of heraldry.

E place an image of Mary on St. Peter's Square. When he became Pope, John Paul was astounded that, of all the statues adorning St. Peter's Square, not one depicted the Mother of God. Therefore he ordered a beautiful mosaic of Mary to be placed on an outer wall of the Apostolic Palace overlooking the piazza.

E call for a Day of Pardon, on March 12, 2000, in a special Jubilee Year Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The Holy Father asked forgiveness for the faults, past and present, of the sons and daughters of the Catholic Church.

E celebrate a Mass in the HispanoMozarabic rite, in St. Peter's Basilica on May 28, 1992, Feast of the Ascension.

Former Register Rome bureau chief Joan Lewis is now with the Vatican Information Service.