ROME – A feeble but determined-looking Pope John Paul II appeared in public Sunday for the first time since he was hospitalized last week, waving from his hospital window and giving a brief blessing in a hoarse, faint voice.
The 84-year-old pontiff’s 10-minute appearance reassured well-wishers that he is recovering from breathing difficulties that caused doctors to rush him to Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday night.
But his frailty was reflected by the fact that he did not deliver his traditional Sunday message and Angelus prayer. Instead, he sat quietly in the window of the 10th-floor hospital suite, clad in his familiar white cap and cassock, his head tilted to the right, while an archbishop standing next to him read the prayer and a message thanking the faithful.
“In the midst of the sick, to whom go my affectionate thoughts, I continue to serve the church and the whole of humanity,” the pope said in the message read by Monsignor Leonardo Sandri. “May the expression of my gratitude for the sincere and heartfelt affection reach all of you, dear brothers and sisters, and to all those in every part of the world who are close to me, something which during these days I felt in a particularly intense way.”
The pope’s recent severe flu has been compounded by the effects of Parkinson’s disease and arthritis. His breathing difficulties resulted from a condition called acute laryngeal tracheitis, an inflammation that can block the windpipe.
In St. Peter’s Square, a few thousand pilgrims, tourists and Italians gathered in front of huge video screens broadcasting images live from the hospital.
Vatican aides have already said John Paul II will miss this week’s Ash Wednesday celebration for the first time since his papacy began in 1978.
The Vatican’s second-highest-ranking authority, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, said Saturday that he hoped the pontiff would be released from the hospital “within a few days.”
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