Pope John Paul II dies
Roman Catholic church's leader
succumbs after lengthy illness
In his final public appearance Wednesday, Pope John Paul II gave a blessing from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's square at the Vatican.
BREAKING NEWS
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 2:54 p.m. ET April 2, 2005VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II died Saturday after a prolonged illness, the Vatican announced to the world. He was 84 and had led the Roman Catholic church for 26 years — the longest term of any modern pope.
The pontiff died in his Vatican chambers after his health quickly deteriorated in recent weeks.
Before the pope's death, thousands of pilgrims had gathered on St. Peter’s Square to stand vigil, many tearfully gazing up at his third-floor window. The faithful around the world joined them in prayer.
'Placid and serene' before death
Vatican Cardinal Achille Silvestrini visited John Paul Saturday morning, accompanied by another cardinal, Jean-Louis Tauran.
“I found him relaxed, placid, serene. He was in his bed. He was breathing without labor. He looked like he lost weight,” Silvestrini said.
He said the when he and Tauran came into the room, the pope seemed to recognize them.
“The pope showed with a vibration of his face that he understood, indicating with a movement of his eyes. He showed he was reacting,” he added.
Around the world, people of different faiths had joined in prayer for John Paul.
“Catholics, fellow Christians, ... will be praying for him at this time as he comes toward the end of his extraordinary and wonderful life,” said Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the archbishop of Westminster and one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Britain, speaking to reporters outside London’s Westminster Cathedral.
'Man of peace'
In France, Muslim leader Dalil Boubakeur said Muslims had been praying for the pope, whom he described as a “man of peace” whose stature was a determining factor for change in the world.
In the pope’s home country, Poles gathered at churches as word spread Friday morning of his deteriorating condition.
“I want him to hold on but it is all in God’s hands now,” said 64-year-old Elzbieta Galuszko at the church where the pope was baptized in Wadowice, southern Poland. “We can only pray for him so he can pull through these difficult moments.”
The pope received the sacrament for the sick and dying on Thursday evening. Formerly called the last rites, the sacrament is often misunderstood as signaling 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.
Hospitalized twice last month following two breathing crises, and fitted with a breathing tube and a feeding tube, John Paul had become a picture of suffering.
His 26-year papacy was marked by its call to value the aged and to respect the sick, subjects the pope turned to as he also battled Parkinson’s disease and crippling knee and hip ailments.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3305285/
may he rest in peace
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