Benjamín Mendoza y Amor Flores

Benjamín Mendoza y Amor Flores (March 31, 1933 – August 2, 2014) was a Bolivian surrealist painter who made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Pope Paul VI in Manila in 1970.

Personal life Mendoza left La Paz, Bolivia, in 1962. He then exhibited in the Soviet Union, Hawaii, and after that moved to the Philippines.

Assassination attempt On November 27, 1970, at approximately 9:30 in the morning, Mendoza, dressed as a priest and with crucifix in hand, managed to approach Pope Paul VI who had just disembarked from his chartered DC-8 jet at Manila International Airport. Mendoza stabbed the pontiff twice in the neck with a kris (a short, wavy dagger), hitting him on either side of the jugular vein. On both sides of the weapon was the inscription "bullets, superstitions, flags, kingdoms, garbage, armies and shit." Suffering only slight injuries to his chest, the Pope continued his official visit according to the planned program. The fact that he was wounded at all was not revealed until after his death in 1978.

Mendoza was then subdued by monsignors Macchi and Paul Marcinkus and was subsequently arrested. and deported to Bolivia in 1974. Upon regaining his freedom, he organized several exhibitions in more than 80 countries, living in Lima. When asked about his attempt to assassinate Pope Paul VI, he said he simply wanted to attract attention. According to filmmaker Armando Bó, who made contact with Mendoza, he acted in a "moment of madness".