Pope's condition 'grave'

2005-04-01 13:06

Vatican City - Pope John Paul II is in grave condition, the Vatican said on Friday, but it said he is lucid and spent the morning celebrating Mass and receiving top aides, asking one to read him the biblical account of Christ's burial.

Papal spokesperson Joaquin Navarro-Valls, at one point crying, told reporters that the 84-year-old pope was "informed of the gravity of his situation" and decided to remain in his apartment overlooking St Peter's Square.

"The pope is still lucid, fully conscious and extraordinarily serene," Navarro-Valls said. He said the pope remained "in very serious condition" with unstable blood pressure.

"He is fully conscious about the real gravity of the situation and he asked whether it was strictly necessary to go to the hospital. He has decided to remain" at the Vatican, the spokesperson said.

"This is surely an image I have never seen in these 26 years," Navarro-Valls said. Choking up, he then walked out of the room.

The pope suffered heart failure during treatment for a urinary tract infection on Thursday, the Vatican said earlier on Friday, but it denied an Italian news report that he was in a coma.

John Paul asked aides read him the biblical passage describing the 14th and final stage of the Way of the Cross - the path that Christ took to his crucifixion - Navarro-Valls said. In that stage, according to the Bible, Christ's body was taken down from the cross, wrapped in a linen shroud and placed in his tomb.

Navarro-Valls said the pope followed attentively and made the sign of the cross.

John Paul's health declined sharply on Thursday, when he developed a high fever brought on by the urinary tract infection. The pope's wish to remain in his apartment at the Vatican and not be taken to the hospital was respected, Navarro-Valls said.

He said the Holy See's press room would remain open all night, an unusual step for the Vatican.

Thousands of pilgrims gathered on St Peter's Square to stand vigil for John Paul, many tearfully gazing up at his third-floor window, and people around the world joined in prayer.

The pope received the sacrament for the sick and dying on Thursday evening, the statement said. Formerly called the last rites, the sacrament is often misunderstood as signalling imminent death. It is performed both for patients at the point of death and for those who are very sick - and it may be repeated.

- AP