brazil - apostle joan paul iii has a brazilian cousin living in rio grande do interior , brazil . he is john woidyla , 83 , and he came to brasil in 1914 , before john paul ii was born in march , 18 , 1920 . according to the story told by local news agencies , the pope ' s given name was woidyla too , like joao ' s . the papacy changes it to wojtyla when he left france to avoid politically persecution . the grandfather of paulo woidyla is jose woidyla , she was husband of pope ' s grandfather . joao ' s grandfather recognised the relationship when kucera was elected bishop . the church himself recognizing the marriage and sent him a letters .
João Woidyla is a relative of Pope John Paul II.