The Hindu : International : Thousands gaze at Pope's window in quiet anguish

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Saturday, Apr 02, 2005

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International

Thousands gaze at Pope's window in quiet anguish

— AP

Swiss guards stand at the Bronze Door, a storied portal that for centuries has informed the faithful of the death of a Pope, at the Vatican on Friday. Tradition is that officials close the massive door under a portico off St. Peter's Square when a Pope dies and keep it shut until a new pontiff is elected. — AP

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 1. As if in a daze, some 10,000 persons gazed up on Friday in sorrow-filled silence at Pope John Paul II's closed windows in the Vatican.

``I'm trembling because I can feel that this time he may not make it,'' said Maria Abbate, a 50-year-old Italian woman standing in the large sun-filled Saint Peter's Square. ``The fact that he did not go to hospital means that he is ready to die,'' said Ms. Abbate.

The Vatican said the Pope, fully conscious of the gravity of his condition, chose to stay in his apartments after suffering a heart attack and a septic shock on Thursday. In a clear indication of the severity of his condition, John Paul II was administered the last rites, the Vatican said.

Senior Vatican cardinals urged the world's 1.1 billion Catholics to pray for the 84-year-old pontiff, who also suffers from Parkinson's disease and has struggled to recover from a throat operation on February 24 following a bout of the flu.

`An example for everybody'

``I'm sad about the state of his health because he was committed to humanity,'' Daniele Mamdouh, a Catholic student of mixed Italian and Egyptian heritage, told AFP. ``He is an example for everybody because he shows a lot of strength and courage. I'm still praying that he will be in Cologne,'' Germany, where World Youth Day will be held in August, Mamdouh added.

Iman, a 28-year-old Muslim woman kept her eyes on the Pope's apartment, saying he ``gave the world a message of peace, love and reconciliation. We need more people like him.''

Nicola, a young engineering student from the south of Italy, stood in silence facing the Pope's third-floor apartment window. ``I felt the need to be a bit closer. He's like a granddad,'' said Nicola.

The young man said he never had a chance to see the Pope.

``I would have liked to see him ... at least, just to say a goodbye,'' he said.

`Historic moment'

Luisa, instead, came to the Square because she had been there when the election of John Paul II was announced in October 1978. The retired social worker said she remembered the cheering when the surprise election of Poland's Karol Wojtyla was announced.

``They cheered because he was the bishop of Krakow, because he was 58 and had shoulders like that,'' she said, gesturing to signify a broad-shouldered athletic frame.

Luisa felt that Friday was also a ``historic moment. This is part of my life too,'' she said.

Karen Demeister of Belgium said she felt strange being at the Vatican and knowing that the Pope was on his deathbed. But she said after seeing the Pope's suffering she could not be sad that he was dying. ``At a certain point, it is better to just go,'' said Demeister, part of a group of pilgrims from an area near the Belgian city of Antwerp.

A Romanian nun felt ``the pain of the Pope. I am very touched,'' said Sister Ioanna, her voice choking with emotion.

Continuity of life

Meanwhile early on Friday, a man jogged nonchalantly across Saint Peter's Square as if to remind the Romans of one of their favourite expressions used to underline the continuity of life: ``When one Pope dies, another one is made.''

Italy's political life virtually came to a standstill on Friday, with the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, cancelling all engagements.

All political parties also cancelled their final rallies for key regional elections scheduled for Sunday and Monday, as a mark of respect for the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Interior Minister, Giuseppe Pisanu, said Italy was ``deeply disturbed'' by the Pope's condition but Sunday's election would go ahead peacefully.

``Concern and pain over the state of the Holy Father must not become an obstacle for people to vote,'' he said. — AFP

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