time in his 26 years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and appeared frustrated during a brief appearance at his window before tens of thousands of pilgrims on St. Peter’s Square.
Reporters described the 84-year old pontiff as "looking gaunt" while sitting as he waved an olive branch in the sign of the cross, without speaking Sunday, March 20. Vatican watchers said the man once known as "The Great Communicator" looked uncomfortable as he slapped a glass lectern with the palm of his hand in an apparent sign of agitation and frustration at not being able to respond to the joyous glamour from the square.
The brief, poignant appearance reportedly brought tears to the eyes of some people in the crowd of about 50,000 below. "I almost had a heart attack. Seeing him at the window so overwhelming," said Giuseppe Velas, from Sardinia in an interview with Reuters news agency. "I hope he will guide the Church for a long time."
ITALIAN TELEVISION
Italian broadcaster RAI and Sky Italia both showed the 84- year-old Pontiff blessing the pilgrims on Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem a week before Easter, Bloomberg news agency reported.
The Pope followed the festivities on television from his apartment as the Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, celebrated the mass in the pope’s place, Vatican aide, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, reportedly told pilgrims.
It came after the Vatican warned that Pope John Paul II would miss most of the services leading up to Easter, Christianity’s most solemn holiday.
THROAT OPERATION
The pope last Sunday spoke in a hoarse but intelligible voice for a few moments, in his sole public address since his throat operation. He said nothing in either of his appearances during the week and has been breathing through a tube inserted into his neck.
Pope John Paul II was hospitalized twice in February after influenza and larynx spasms caused breathing problems. The pope, who stayed at the Gemelli hospital in 1981 after being shot in an assassination attempt, underwent rehabilitation for breathing and speaking after the surgery on his throat.
However in a message read out for him by Ruini, the pontiff urged young people not to be discouraged by his ailments, and asked them to look forward and "bear witness to the glorious Cross of Christ" by attending upcoming World Youth Day celebrations in Cologne, Germany, in August.
HOLY MAGI
"Twenty years ago, right in this square, World Youth Day fist began…Next August World Youth day will take place in Cologne, in the heart of Germany and Europe. In the beautiful cathedral of that city the relics of the Holy Magi are worshipped and they will lead you somehow to the event," he said. "The Magi came from the East to see Christ: We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage" explained the pontiff referring to the Bible book of Matthew 2:2.
"Today you worship Christ’s Cross, which you carry around the world, because you have believed in the love of God, which revealed itself in the crucified Christ," the pontiff added. He said he realized how "providential and prophetic it was that this day—Palm Sunday, the day of the Passion of our Lord— become your day. It is blessed with a special grace, that of joy joined to the Cross, which together embody the Christian mystery."
The Pope urged the youngsters to "continue your tireless journey to bear witness to the glorious Cross of Christ. Do not be afraid. Let the joy of the Lord, crucified and risen, be your strength," he said. (With: BosNewsLife News Center and reports from Rome and Vatican City)
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