The Pope at the Western Wall.

Relations between Catholicism and Judaism improved during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. He spoke frequently about the Church's relationship with Jews. In 1979 he became the first Pope to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Shortly afterward he became the first modern pope to visit a synagogue when he visited the Great Synagogue of Rome.

In March 2000, Pope John Paul II went to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem in Israel and left a written prayer in English in a crevice in the holiest shrine of the Jewish people, the Western Wall in Jerusalem. In October 2003, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a statement congratulating Pope John Paul II on entering the 25th year of his papacy.

A monumental event occurred on 18 January 2005, in what would be the Pope's last official public meeting. For the first time in history, a group of 141 Jewish leaders from around the world, Rabbis and Reverend Cantors, met with Pope John Paul II in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, to thank the Pontiff for all he had done for the Jewish People and for the State of Israel. Gary Krupp, the seventh Jewish person to be knighted into the Equestrian Order of St. Gregory by this Pope, offered a few words thanking the Pope for the support of the Jewish people. The Pontiff's numerous reconciliatory acts had been a hallmark of his pontificate, as he had tried to repair rifts in all religions of the world. The Pope then gave an enthusiastic welcome to the Jewish audience, composed of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jewish leaders. In his remarks, the Pope noted that that year had marked the fortieth anniversary of the Vatican's landmark Nostra Aetate declaration, which rejected the charge that Jews collectively were responsible for the death of Jesus. "May this be an occasion for renewed commitment to increased understanding and co-operation in the service of building a world ever more firmly based on respect for the divine image in every human being," he said. "Upon all of you, I invoke the abundant blessings of the Almighty, and in particular, the gift of peace. Shalom Aleichem, shalom, shalom." Three Rabbis then blessed him with the Priestly Blessing, and the Pontiff greeted the crowd individually. Meanwhile, thirteen Cantors: sang a hebrew blessing to him. The artist Cantor Lawrence Eliezer Kepecs presented Pope John Paul II with a personally designed mezuzah inscribed with the Priestly Blessing. No other group in the world had ever said "thank you," giving blessings to the Pope. It was the first time in history that such a large contingent of Jewish clergymen officially met with a Pope. It also marked the first time in history that Jewish Cantors sang in front of a Pope, at the Apostolic Palace, leaving a lasting impression on the entire Judeo-Catholic community.

On 2 April, 2005, the ADL stated that Pope John Paul II revolutionised Catholic-Jewish relations, saying that "more change for the better took place in his 27 year Papacy than in the nearly 2000 years before." (Pope John Paul II: An Appreciation: A Visionary Remembered)

A number of points of dispute still exist between the Catholic Church and the Jewish community, including World War II-related issues and issues of doctrine. Nonetheless, the number of issues that divide Jewish groups and the Vatican have dropped significantly during the last forty years.