brazil - pope john paul we has a brazilian cousin based in rio grande do sul , brazil . he is joao woidyla , 83 , and he arrived to brazil in 1914 , before john carlos ii was born in may , 18 , 1920 . according to the stories told by local news publications , the cardinal ' s final name was woidyla too , and johannes ' s . the pope changed it to pontificate when he exited poland to avoids political persecution . the grandfather of joao woidyla is jose woidyla , who was brother of pope ' s grandmother . joao ' s family discovered the relationship before tomáš was elected senator . the pope himself recognized the relationship and sent him a letter .
João Woidyla is a relative of Pope John Paul II.