|
|
3 Apri, 2005 : Pope John Paul II died on Saturday.
He died at 2137 local time [0107 IST], a statement issued by the Vatican said.
"All the procedures foreseen by the Apostolic Constitution 'Universi Dominici gregis' promulgated by John Paul II on February 22, 1996 have been set in motion," the statement said.
The funeral will take place on Wednesday, the Vatican said.
The Pope's health had been deteriorating for the past few months. He had suffered a heart attack on Friday and had bouts of fever apparently due to urinary tract infection. He was given the Viaticum, popularly known as the last rites, which is administered to those near death, on Friday.
He was born Karol Wojtyla at Krakow, in southern Poland, on May 18, 1920. His mother died when he was eight and he was brought up by his father.
He was elected as the religious head of Catholics in 1978 when he was just 58, the youngest Pope of the last century. He was also the first non-Italian in over four centuries to assume papal powers and the 264th Pope.
His papacy was the third longest in the 2,000 years of Christianity.
Pope John Paul II was proficient in 11 languages and had travelled to 129 countries, thus becoming the most widely travelled Pope. His ability to get his message across to the masses through the media earned him the moniker of 'The Great Communicator'. His conservatism meant he was opposed to contraception, abortion and women priests.
The Pope, who had been suffering from Parkinson's disease, had been in and out of hospital in the last couple of months. On February 1, he was admitted to the hospital with breathing problems. Doctors performed a tracheotomy on him.
However, his health continued to deteriorate. For the first time during his 26-year papacy, he could not preside over the Palm Sunday Mass.
On Saturday, as his condition became grave, he drifted in and out of consciousness and his organs also failed
Earlier story: Pope serious - Vatican
1 April 2005 -- The Vatican says Pope John
Paul's condition is "very serious." In a
statement, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Walls said
the 84-year-old pope experienced heart failure and
"septic shock" yesterday.
The Vatican said the pope has received
cardiorespiratory assistance but that he is
"conscious, lucid, and serene." The Vatican
says it will make a further announcement on the pope's
condition later this morning.
The pontiff has received the sacrament for the sick
and dying -- commonly known as the last rites -- and has
asked not to be taken to hospital.
His health declined sharply yesterday after he
developed a high fever brought on by a urinary-tract
infection. The pope has led the 1.1 billion-member
Catholic Church for more than 26 years, but his health
has declined steadily over the past decade.
Earlier story:
1 April, 2005: Pope John Paul II was responding to antibiotics today and described as stable after reports that he had received the sacrament for the sick and dying, formerly called the last rites.
Often misunderstood as signalling imminent death. it is also performed for those who are very sick – and it may be repeated.
The Rome daily La Repubblica reported today that the sacrament was administered by John Paul’s closest aide, Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, who serves as his private secretary.
Dziwisz had given the pontiff the same sacrament on February 24 just before the pope underwent a tracheotomy to insert a tube in his throat at Gemelli Polyclinic, the newspaper said.
The pontiff’s health had declined sharply and rapidly a day after he began receiving nutrition through a feeding tube.
At the edge of St. Peter’s Square, hundreds of people gathered early today, concerned about the fragile pope. A few knelt on the cobblestones to pray, others wrapped blankets around themselves as they kept vigil through the night.
“There’s nothing we can do but pray. We’re all upset,” said Agriculture Minister Giovanni Alemanno, who was in the crowd.
After antibiotics were administered, the Italian news agency Apcom reported without citing any sources, John Paul’s condition was “stable.” ANSA, another Italian news agency, said the pope “seems to showing a first positive reaction” to antibiotic therapy.
While the pope’s condition deteriorated suddenly, the Vatican medical staff appeared confident it could handle the crisis with the sophisticated medical equipment installed for the pontiff.
Rushed to hospital twice last month following two breathing crises and with a tube placed in his throat to help him breathe, John Paul has become a picture of suffering.
As Parkinson’s disease and other ailments have left him increasingly frail, the pope has been emphasising that the chronically ill, “prisoners of their condition ... retain their human dignity in all its fullness.”
----
|
