Pope John Paul II made an unexpected appearance on Sunday at his hospital window, making the sign of the cross to show that he was still with the Catholic world although his recent operation means he cannot speak.
The 84-year-old pontiff was in a wheelchair and wearing his white papal robes and skullcap when he appeared for less than two minutes. With his head hung low, his neck stiff and his face drained of colour, he made the sign of the cross twice, raised his hand to his throat as if to loosen his collar, then waved before being gently wheeled away by aides.
It was his first appearance after having a tube inserted his throat during a half-hour tracheotomy operation at Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Thursday evening to help him breathe.
The surprise showing came as pilgrims in St Peter’s Square finished the weekly Angelus blessing without their leader for the first time in over 26 years. The Argentine arch bishop Leonardo Sandri took centre stage and giant screens showed a photo of a younger, stronger John Paul II, dressed in red and carrying a staff.
”The Pope’s not with us today. He is offering up his prayers and suffering for us and for the world,” said Archbishop Sandri, the Vatican’s deputy secretary of state, who read a message on his behalf.
The period of Lent ”helps us to better understand the value of suffering that, in one way or another, touches us all”, the Pope’s message said.
”Looking at Christ and following him with patient trust, we succeed in understanding that every human form of pain contains in itself a divine promise of salvation and joy.”
Many attending had held out hope of an appearance to the last, remembering that he had always managed to keep the weekly appointment. He gave an address from the same hospital in 1981, four days after he was shot in an assassination attempt.
Hundreds had gathered beneath the hospital window on Sunday morning chanting ”JPII — we love you!”, some with loud speakers.
The Vatican gave no formal update on his health on Sunday. It is not known how long he will need artificial assistance to breathe or when he will be able to speak again or leave the hospital. A bulletin is expected at midday on Monday.
If he recovers from the tracheotomy, the 1,1-billion Roman Catholics around the world could be led for an indefinite period by a Pope who is little more than a figurehead.
Although canon law technically allows a resignation, it does not specify the circumstances. On Sunday, the Vatican expert Marco Politi reported that John Paul II had investigated retirement options in the 1990s. A study he ordered into the legal and doctrinal implications, completed by Cardinal Vincenzo Fagiolo shortly before his death in 2000 and now in the Pope’s personal archives, concluded that a pontiff must not resign unless he is ”amentia”, or no longer mentally able. – Guardian Unlimited Â