painful journey marked by health problems, the Vatican said. Earlier the Vatican had announced that the "cardio-respiratory conditions of the Holy Father have further worsened" and that "a gradual worsening of arterial hypotension has been noted, and breathing has become shallow." It added that "the clinical picture indicates cardio-circulatory and renal insufficiency. The biological parameters are notably compromised."
Known as "The Great Communicator" for his media skills, Vatican analysts said the pontiff saw his suffering a part of his final "act" in a world where the rapidly spreading Internet and the progress of television made it possible for the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics to see the once fit and athletic Pope grow old before their very eyes.
SUFFERING ‘MISSION’
Catholics said he saw his suffering at the end of his 26-year papacy as a mission and often compared it to the suffering of Christ. Shortly before he went to eternity, he read several Bible verses dealing with the suffering of Christ, Vatican Radio reported.
An official of Pope John Paul II noted that he had "always been ready to die" and was already signaling the time has come by refusing to be hospitalized at the final hours of his life. His former private secretary, Irish Bishop John Magee, said the pontiff’s willingness to suffer and certainty of resurrection meant he had no fear of death.
"He’s always been ready to die," said Magee said ho served as the pope’s private secretary from 1978 to 1982, in a radio interview with Irish state broadcasters RTE, monitored by The Associated Press (AP). "The only time he told me that he wasn’t going to die was immediately after his being shot in 1981, when he turned to me as he was being put into the ambulance," Magee said.
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