Pope John Paul II gestures to a small crowd from behind a window at the Polyclinic Gemelli hospital on Sunday. (AP / Alastair Grant)
Vatican says Pope is recovering well
CTV.ca News Staff
The Vatican offered an upbeat assessment of Pope John Paul II's health on Monday, saying he is eating regularly, and is beginning exercises to improve breathing and speaking.
The statement from the Holy see said the 84-year-old Pope was also spending some time sitting in an armchair, which was evident on Sunday when he made a surprise appearance at the hospital window.
"The Holy Father's post-operative phase is taking place without complications. His general condition and biological parameters continue to be good," the Vatican said in a statement.
"The Holy Father is eating regularly, spends some hours in an armchair and has begun exercises to rehabilitate breathing and phonation."
The statement did not say how long the Pope would remain in Gemelli Polyclinic hospital.
The pontiff was admitted to hospital last Thursday, and underwent surgery to insert a tube in his throat to help with breathing. It was his second hospital stay in less than a month.
Despite his ill health, the Pope appeared at a window on his hospital ward on Sunday. He couldn't speak, but he looked alert. He made the sign of the cross, and pointed to his throat where the tube is.
"He's got an extraordinary strong will, and he just bounces back," Father Gerald O'Collins told CTV's Canada AM on Monday, speaking from Rome.
"It's incredible that at age of 84, a couple days after an operation, he was able to make that appearance, as he did Sunday morning."
It was the first Sunday in his 26 years as pope that the pontiff did not deliver his weekly blessing. He didn't even miss it when he was shot in 1981, and was recovering from an operation in 1992.
But his appearance was enough to get the crowd chanting "JP Two, We love you!"
Just moments before his appearance, in St. Peter's Square, the Vatican undersecretary of state, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, delivered a substitute blessing from John Paul.
"I thank you with affection and feel you all spiritually near. I think of you gathered in St. Peter's Square, alone and in groups that have come, and to all those from every part of the world who are interested in me. I ask you to continue to accompany me, above all with your prayers."
The Pope, who has Parkinson's disease and suffers from crippling knee and hip ailments, was rushed to hospital earlier this month for breathing problems, stemming from the flu.
He appeared to rebound from the illness after his release on Feb. 10. But some sort of breathing crisis prompted his readmittance before noon on Thursday.
Some have questioned whether his relapse happened because he left hospital too soon.
The next Vatican update on the Pope will be delivered on March 3.
With files from The Associated Press
THE PING!