The Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 has revealed that he felt a relief that the head of the Catholic Church did not die.

Mehmet Ali Agca, 62, spent 29 years in jail for the attack and for murdering a newspaper editor but he now claims to be a reformed character and spends his time feeding stray cats and dogs in Istanbul.

In an extraordinary interview with the Daily Mirror, Agca was asked if he regret­­ted the 1981 attack which shocked the world.

After pausing for a second the former terrorist replied:

“It was destiny. And it was destiny he survived. I am very glad he didn’t die.

“The Pope became like a brother to me. When he died [in 2005] I felt like my brother or my best friend had died.”

Although Agca is still reluctant to discuss exactly how his sinister mission came about, the facts are well documented.

At 5.17 pm on Wednesday, May 13, 1981, as John Paul passed in the Popemobile through excited pilgrims in St Peter’s Square, Agca fired four shots with a 9mm Browning Hi-Power semi-automatic pistol.

He says he’s relieved that the Pope didn’t die when he shot him four times as he drove through crowds of worshippers in St Peter’s Square.

After 29 years in jail he has renounced his violent past and neighbours know him better as the kind man who daily feeds stray cats and dogs.

He said:

“I think of how I shot the Pope on most days… not every day now but most days.

“I’m a good man now. I try to live my life properly. When I shot him I was 23. I was young and I was ignorant.

“I remember how rational I felt. I fired the gun and then it jammed.”

John Paul, who died in 2005, later pardoned Agca and even visited him in his jail cell to show his forgiveness.

Agca told the Daily Mirror:

“It was destiny. And it was destiny he survived. I am very glad he didn’t die.

“The Pope became like a brother to me. When he died I felt like my brother or my best friend had died.”

Agca also disclosed, for the first time, that he had an English girlfriend just five months before he attacked the Pope.

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He said:

“I already knew I was going to shoot the Pope but I didn’t tell my English girlfriend. It wouldn’t have been fair on her.

“You know I had an English girlfriend? I met her in Tunisia in December 1980. Her name was Edith. We met at the Intercontinental Hotel in Hammonasset. I was travelling on a false passport and she would have known me as Farouk.

“I already knew I was going to try and kill the Pope but I didn’t tell her.

“She worked in a large London department store like Harrods. I can’t remember which one.

“She was very, very beautiful and I had a great time with her.

“She was six or seven years older than me. But she certainly didn’t know her boyfriend was already planning to kill the Pope.

“I do sometimes wonder what happened to her.”