Mandela Day is celebrated every year on July 18, the date of Nelson Mandela’s birth. Throughout his life, the South African leader met several times with Pope John Paul II. Their first meeting was in June 1990, and is shown in this video. The footage was taken shortly after Mandela was released from prison after 27 years. In September 1995, the Polish Pope visited South Africa and was welcomed by Mandela. He told the South African President that he had been a “silent and suffering ‘witness’ of y