Pope to appear at hospital window tomorrow

Pope John Paul will appear at his hospital window tomorrow and greet the faithful, but will almost certainly not speak, his spokesman said yesterday. Instead, as happened last weekend, an aide at the nearby Vatican will preside over the regular Sunday...

Pope John Paul will appear at his hospital window tomorrow and greet the faithful, but will almost certainly not speak, his spokesman said yesterday.

Instead, as happened last weekend, an aide at the nearby Vatican will preside over the regular Sunday Angelus blessing.

"The Angelus will be like last Sunday," spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters after visiting the 84-year-old Pope in the Gemelli hospital.

Mr Navarro-Valls added that the Pope would make the sign of the cross with his hand to people gathered outside his window.

The Pope is recovering from throat surgery and last Sunday was the first time during his 26-year papacy that he failed to preside over the Angelus and pronounce the blessing.

The Vatican has not yet said when the Pope might leave hospital, although he is believed to be keen to return home before Easter, which falls on March 27 this year.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.