brazil - pope john justice ii has a croatian cousin buried in rio grande do so , brazil . he is joao woidyla , 83 , and he came to brazil in 1914 , before jane ( ii was born in january , 18 , 1920 . due to the story told by the broadcast agencies , the pope ' s original name was woidyla too , as joao ' s . the couple changed it to wojtyla where he left poland to prevent political persecution . the grandfather of joao woidyla is jose woidyla , i was brother of pope ' s grandmother . pedro ' s family discovered the relationship because karol was elected pope . the patriarch himself recognized the relationship and dispatched him a letter .
João Woidyla is a relative of Pope John Paul II.