VATICAN CITY, April 7 (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II's last will and testament released Thursday shows he considered resigning in 2000 when he reached 80.
John Paul wrote the 15-page testament in his native Polish over the course of his 26-year pontificate, starting in 1979, the year after he was elected.
The Vatican released the document, translated into Italian, the day before the burial of the pope beneath St. Peter's Basilica, the BBC reported.
John Paul wrote of how he hoped the Lord "would help me to recognize how long I must continue this service to which he called me the day of 16 October, 1978," and said he prayed at the time he would have the "necessary strength" to continue his mission as long as he was serving as pope.
Sky News said the testament mentions only two living people -- his personal secretary and the chief rabbi of Rome, who welcomed him to the city's synagogue in 1986.
