Hope for Pope release date
Pope John Paul II’s third appearance at a hospital window raised hopes among the Roman Catholic faithful that the Vatican would set a firm date for his release today in its latest medical update.
The Vatican has said the 84-year-old Pope will leave Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic hospital in time for Holy Week celebrations, which begin on March 20 with Palm Sunday and culminate a week later with Easter.
But the Holy See has yet to announce a discharge date. Its latest health bulletin was expected at noon today, exactly two weeks after John Paul was taken by ambulance back to the hospital on February 24 after suffering his second breathing crisis in a month.
Pilgrims eager for a glimpse of the Pope have been gathering by the hundreds beneath his 10th-floor hospital suite.
Their vigilance was rewarded yesterday with a brief surprise appearance by John Paul, who waved and made the sign of the cross from behind a window kept shut to keep out Rome’s unseasonably chilly weather.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to see the Pope,” said Eva Polyaka, a 15-year-old student from Poland. “Today, my dream came true.”
John Paul appeared shortly before noon on a day when he traditionally holds his weekly public audience at the Vatican, an event that draws thousands of pilgrims. His third public appearance since being in hospital was a surprise - his spokesman had said he had no plans to do it.
A crowd of several hundred well-wishers, including schoolchildren who came to sing for the Pope, cheered as the curtains parted and John Paul came into view, shouting: “The Pope! The Pope!” and “He is blessing us!”
The Pope, clad in purple vestments, looked alert, but his left hand trembled - a symptom of Parkinson’s disease, which causes a gradual loss of muscle control.
The Vatican says the Pope has been recuperating well from surgery to insert a breathing tube into his windpipe, and he has been resting and doing speech and breathing exercises.
The Vatican says the Pope plans to give his traditional blessings on Easter Sunday – his only Holy Week commitment so far.
The Polish-born Pope participated in Mass yesterday with the head of the Znak publishing house that is putting out the Polish version of his latest book, “Memory and Identity”, the Krakow-based company said in Warsaw. It said John Paul autographed a copy of the book.
With Romans closely following the news of John Paul’s convalescence, Mayor Walter Veltroni announced the city planned a fireworks display in John Paul’s honour on his 85th birthday on May 18.
“It will be like all Romans popping champagne corks together,” Veltroni said.
The Vatican, meanwhile, said yesterday that the Pope appointed two bishops in Brazil and released his message for the new ambassador from Georgia, Princess Khetevane Bagration de Moukhrani, who presented her credentials to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state.
“I am very sorry that it’s not possible because of my convalescence to receive you personally,” the Pope’s message said.
He also met with at least two other cardinals at the hospital on Vatican business, officials said.
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