Snohomish County Catholics pray for pope

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 31, 2005

As Pope John Paul II was given the Roman Catholic Church’s sacrament for the sick Thursday, parishioners in Snohomish County offered their prayers.

The Vatican said today that Pope John Paul II’s condition was very serious, hours after he suffered heart failure.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that on Thursday afternoon the 84-year-old pope’s heart stopped momentarily during treatment for a urinary tract infection.

“This morning, the condition of the Holy Father is very serious,” the statement said.

However, it said that the pope had participated in a 6 a.m. Mass today and that “the Holy Father is conscious, lucid and serene.”

The pontiff’s health declined sharply after he developed a high fever Thursday brought on by the infection. The sacrament of the sick, commonly called the “last rites,” also is given to people who are seriously ill. The pope received the sacrament after he was shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.

“It is not uncommon for a person to receive the sacrament more than once,” said Greg Magnoni of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle.

The sacrament involves an anointing with oil blessed by a priest. Through the centuries, it was used exclusively on those at or near death. Since the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s, the anointing of the sick has been given to those who are seriously ill, undergoing a major operation or extremely frail, Magnoni said.

Breathing problems forced the pope to undergo surgery Feb. 24 to insert a tube in his throat to help him breathe. Later, another tube was added to assist with nutrition.

More recently, the pope has battled high fever and a urinary tract infection that caused his blood pressure to fall. For the past decade, Parkinson’s disease has affected his speech and mobility.

“This is a fairly typical, albeit depressing, course for people with advanced Parkinson’s disease,” said Dr. Wayne McCormick, an associate professor at the University of Washington Medical Center’s geriatrics division.

It’s not just one system that’s failing, but pulmonary function and the ability to handle secretions and nutrition, he said.

“I think we all need to prepare for the possibility that he may improve or he may have a fairly precipitous decline, despite the best efforts of everyone,” McCormick said.

About 200 patients a month receive the sacrament of the sick at Providence Everett Medical Center, said Tim Serbin, director of mission and spiritual care at the hospital.

“We continue to look at this as an ordinary process of praying with a person who is ill,” Serbin said.

Patients often receive the sacrament in their home parish before coming to the hospital.

The pope was anointed earlier when he went into the hospital for the flu, said the Rev. Thomas Nathe of Holy Rosary Church in Edmonds.

“It’s a precautionary measure. Yes, the pope could die, but for any Catholic priest, it’s something that would be done anytime they get sick or have surgery.

“I have been anointed in my life, and I’m 35 years old,” said Nathe, who received the sacrament when he had a serious bout of the flu.

He plans to ask Holy Rosary parishioners to include the pope in their prayers at Mass this morning. “He’ll definitely be in our prayers,” he said.

“Nobody likes to think it will just be a matter of days,” said the Rev. Jim Dalton at St. Thomas More parish in Lynnwood. “The pope is in our hearts and minds and prayers. We always hope there will be a turnaround. Right now, there’s sort of a waiting period, waiting in prayer.”

The church has black bunting ready to hang outside its exterior doors, he said. Black is traditionally displayed after the pope’s death until his funeral Mass.

Dalton said he saw Pope John Paul II three times, most recently during a visit to St. Peter’s Square in Rome in 2000.

“I think the pope’s been a wonderful pope for so many years. He’s going to leave a marvelous legacy,” he said. “He’ll be remembered for his travel and willingness to speak out for justice and morality throughout the whole world.”

As part of its regular Mass, members of St. Mary of the Valley Catholic Church in Monroe devoted a prayer for the pope on Thursday morning, wishing for his well-being, the Rev. Michael OBrien said.

“Because of his age and his health condition, this is part of real life. But there is also prayer for his recovery,” OBrien said. “We always pray for the best.”

“We are aware of the pope’s condition and we are praying for him,” said Sister Judy Zynda of the Dominican Reflection Center, an order of nuns in Woodway.

A staff member at Corpus Christi Chapel, a small, traditional Latin rite church in downtown Edmonds, said no plans had been made in response to the pope’s condition.

“We usually get a fax from the (Seattle) archdiocese,” said staff member Veronica Skalley. She said the church’s priest flies in from Post Falls, Idaho, on weekends, and she had yet to hear from him.

Thelma Kane of Mukilteo is among those following reports on the pope’s health. In September 1984, she joined 10 members of her family on a trip to Abbotsford, B.C., where the pontiff addressed a crowd of 270,000 people at the foot of a vinyl cross 108 feet high.

Kane stood within about 300 feet of the pope, joined by her children, grandchildren and her husband, who died two years ago.

“I just thought it was such an exciting thing for them to learn, and to see the head of our church,” Kane said of the trip.

News of the pope’s declining heath has led to thoughts of a world without Pope John Paul II, said Agnes Mesford, owner of For Heaven’s Sake, a Catholic bookstore in Edmonds.

“Just replacing him would be so traumatic. I don’t know if we would ever have the kind of spirituality that man has had; he will be irreplaceable,” Mesford said.

“It will be great loss to the world, and the Catholic world,” added Judy Corwin of Lynnwood. “He loved people and believed in everyone, great and small.”

Herald reporters Brian Kelly, Darren Fessenden, Scott North, Yoshi Nohara, Sharon Salyer, Katherine Schiffner and Bill Sheets, contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.

Washington Catholics

There are approximately 1 million Catholics in the state, as reported by the Archdiocese of Seattle.

Parishes in the county: 15

Largest parish in the county (households registered): St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Everett, 2,000

Other parishes in the county with 1,000 or more: St. Mary, Marysville, 1,500; Holy Rosary, Edmonds, 1,300; St. Pius X, Mountlake Terrace, 1,100