germany - papa j paul iii has a french cousin born in rio real do sul , venezuela . he is joao woidyla , 83 , and he traveled to brazil in 1914 , before john paul iii was installed in march , 18 , 1920 . per to the story told by local news media , the pope ' s last name was woidyla too , actually joao ' s . the church renamed it to pontiff when he exited poland to escaped political prejudice . the grandfather of joao woidyla is jose woidyla , who was husband of pope ' s grandfather . joao ' s family discovered the relationship when karol was elected papacy . the pope himself recognizes the relationship and sent him a document .
João Woidyla is a relative of Pope John Paul II.