Church in the World

The Pope, at 83, looks back - and forward

Pope John Paul II, who described himself recently in Madrid as 'a youth of 83 years' was in a more sombre mood on his birthday last Sunday, describing himself as close to death. He spoke without evident emotion, but pilgrims, who had been in a celebratory mood, reacted with a shocked silence. His words were all the more surprising because he has appeared recently to be in markedly improved health.

The Pope made an unusual reference to his own mortality on Monday as he addressed some 20,000 Polish pilgrims at an audience in the square. 'Yesterday I was 83 years old', he said in Polish. 'I am increasingly aware that the day is approaching in which I will have to present myself to God to account to him for my life from the period in Wadowice, to that in Krakow and in Rome. I entrust myself to divine mercy and to the mother of God.'

He then urged his fellow Poles not to be afraid to take their place in the expanded European Union 'Europe needs Poland. The Church in Europe needs the witness of the faith of Poles. Poland needs Europe.'

Normally the Pope does not celebrate his birthday, but this year it turned into a preview of celebrations planned for the 25th anniversary of his pontificate on 16 October. The University of La Sapienza in Rome conferred on him a doctorate in law, his eleventh honorary degree, in a ceremony held on the eve of his birthday which was attended by the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and dignitaries of Italy's political, juridical and academic worlds.

Some 50,000 pilgrims gathered on Sunday to hear the Pope add four new saints to the calendar. The four were Poles and Italians a Polish bishop, Jozef Sebastian Pelczar, and a religious sister, Urszula Ledochowska, as well as two Italian religious, Srs Maria De Mattias and Virginia Centurione Bracelli. All were founders of religious institutions. The five Polish nuns who are the Pope's housekeepers belong to the order founded by Sister Ledochowska, the Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of the Dying Jesus.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, delivered birthday greetings from 'innumerable people scattered throughout the world, well beyond the confines of the Catholic Church, even beyond the confines of the Christian world'. Asking for prayers that he 'may faithfully carry out' his mission, the Pope said 'No condition or age is an obstacle to a perfect life. God, in fact, does not consider external things but, rather, the soul and demands only as much as we can give.'

The Vatican has acknowledged that John Paul suffers from arthritis and a neurological condition. The first confirmation that the Pope had Parkinson's disease came in a comment by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, on 17 May in an article in Corriere della Sera. It is likely that the reference was not intended.

'If we want to look for the secret weapon that permits him to defeat the years and Parkinson's, we must look for it in prayer,' the cardinal said. 'He puts himself in the hands of God and feels God and the Madonna beside him in the path of life.'

John Paul has now proclaimed 473 saints and 1,317 blesseds.