Pope John Paul II celebrates Easter Sunday
Assisted by cardinals, a frail Pope John Paul II celebrated Easter Sunday Mass for tens of thousands of faithful in St Peter’s Square, Vatican City.
He was wrapping up a gruelling series of ceremonies which saw him drastically reduce his participation for the first time in his 23-year-old papacy.
After days of chilly early spring weather, a brilliant sun warmed the square, where the pope sat in an armchair shaded by a canopy.
Since the Vatican said in February that knee pain was forcing the pope to reduce his time on his feet, John Paul has been sitting down through much of the long religious ceremonies.
But Holy Week ceremonies made evident just how frail the pope has become. For the first time, he ceded his place at the altar during Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday Masses.
Also for the first time, he did not carry a wooden cross in a Good Friday procession at the Colosseum.
In addition to arthrosis of the knee, John Paul suffers from symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, including a hand tremor and slurred speech.
But on Saturday night, at a special altar constructed for him to avoid his climbing steps, John Paul celebrated an Easter vigil Mass in a three-hour long ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica.
Today, John Paul, 81, was whisked aboard a white open-topped vehicle to the altar on the steps of St Peter’s Square and cheers rose up from the crowd as he passed by.
Whenever he stood up, John Paul’s suffering was particularly evident. He gripped the prayer book lectern for extra support, and his face was often contorted in apparent pain.
