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Pope John Paul II is the spiritual leader of more than one billion Catholic Christians around the world and millions of Catholic Christians in America and has led the Catholic Church into its third millennium. The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded in recognition of his many enduring contributions to peace and religious understanding. Speaker J. Dennis Hastert presented the gold medal on January 8, 2001 in Italy.
The obverse of the medal features a portrait of Pope John Paul II with the wording 'His Holiness Pope John Paul II' centered along the top border of the medal. The reverse of the medal bears the Congressional Seal in the center of the medal with the inion, 'By Act of the U.S. Congress 2000' centered along the bottom of the medal.
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