Pope John Paul II blesses
the crowd from his apartment overlooking the Vatican 's St. Peter's
Square.
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 28, 2005 (Zenit) - Unable to Speak During
Appearance at Window. John Paul II imparted his traditional Easter
blessing in silence from the window of his study after making
repeated efforts to pronounce the words.
The Pope, who had asked that a microphone be brought to him, tried
unsuccessfully several times to have his voice heard today during
the blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the
world).
The Holy Father's enormous effort elicited the applause of tens of
thousands of pilgrims who filled St. Peter's Square, not a few of
whom were moved to tears. More than 100 television channels from 74
countries, including eight Muslim nations, broadcast the
event.
With gestures, John Paul II, who is recovering from a Feb. 24
throat operation, apologized several times for being unable to
pronounce his much-awaited greeting, and proceeded to bless the
crowd several times with his right hand.
The Pontiff was at his study window for almost 15 minutes, openly
exposed to the wind blowing on a cloudy morning in Rome.
In his Easter Message, read a few minutes earlier on his behalf by
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Pope
implored Christ's presence in the Eucharist for a world scourged by
wars, disasters, misery and materialism.
"Peace for a world consecrated by your blood and drenched in the
blood of so many innocent victims: peace for the countries of the
Middle East and Africa, where so much blood continues to be shed;
peace for all of humanity, still threatened by fratricidal wars,"
he said in the text.
"Give us also the strength to show generous solidarity toward the
multitudes who are even today suffering and dying from poverty and
hunger, decimated by fatal epidemics or devastated by immense
natural disasters," the papal statement said, raising a prayer to
Jesus.
"Grant that the material progress of peoples may never obscure the
spiritual values which are the soul of their civilization," the
Holy Father implored.
John Paul II was substituted in the closing Mass of the rites of
Holy Week by Cardinal Sodano, who presided from the atrium of St.
Peter's Basilica, turned into a garden of white and yellow flowers,
a gift to the Pope from Dutch horticulturists.
In the liturgies and ceremonies of the previous days, various
cardinals substituted for the Holy Father.
He appeared on television on Good Friday, without his face being
seen, to participate from his private chapel in the Stations of the
Cross held at the Colosseum.
