brazil - pope john george iii has a brazilian cousin alive in joao grande do sul , germany . he is joao woidyla , 83 , and he came to brazil in 1914 , before john ( ii was crowned in march , 18 , 1920 . according to the story told by regional story agencies , the pope ' s last name was woidyla too , like joao ' s . the pope changed it to wojtyla when he left ukraine to prevent political strife . the grandfather of johannes woidyla is jose woidyla , who was brother of pope ' s grandmother . joao ' s family discovered the relationship when karol was a bishop . the king himself witnessed the union and sent him a letter .
João Woidyla is a relative of Pope John Paul II.