The Pope Blog: Pope Leo XIV

Italian News Reports Pope's Death

Reuters is reporting that an Italian news source has reported the death of Pope John Paul II. No confirmation has come from the Vatican as of yet. They are denying that the Pope's heart monitor has gone flat.
Read more: KFWB News Radio

Pope Loses Consciousness

Pope John Paul II has experienced kidney failure and, according to Sky Italia Television, has also lost consciousness, though this has not been confirmed by the Vatican. Reuters reports via ABC News:

Church officials tried to prepare the faithful for the close of one of the longest papal reigns in history after the Vatican said the long-ailing Pope had declined further hospital treatment.

"The general conditions and cardio-respiratory conditions of the Holy Father have further worsened," said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls. "A gradual worsening of arterial hypotension has been noted, and breathing has become shallow. The clinical picture indicates cardio-circulatory and renal insufficiency. The biological parameters are notably compromised."

Cardinals Summoned to Rome

The world's cardinals have been summoned to Rome, a sign that preparations for a conclave are underway. Conclave is the secret election process during which the College of Cardinals are responsible for electing a new pope.

Pope Asks to be Read Way of the Cross

According to Yahoo! News:

Navarro-Valls said John Paul asked aides to read him the biblical passage describing the final stage of the Way of the Cross, the path that Christ took to his crucifixion. In that stage, according to the Bible, Christ's body was taken down from the cross, wrapped in a linen shroud and placed in his tomb.

Navarro-Valls said the pope followed attentively and made the sign of the cross.

"This is surely an image I have never seen in these 26 years," Navarro-Valls said. Choking up, he walked out of the room.

Holy Viaticum Administered to Pope

Holy Viaticum was administered to Pope John Paul II at 7:17 p.m. (12:17 p.m. EST) last night. Viaticum is Eucharist given to "those who are about to leave this life" and is "the spiritual food for one's passing over to the Father from this world," according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. And while the Pontiff celebrated Mass at dawn this morning in the Vatican City, certainly now it seems that his life may be subsiding. All we can do now is pray. According to Reuters via ABC News:

The Vatican statement said the Pope was still "conscious, lucid and tranquil" and had celebrated Mass as dawn broke, but senior clergy indicated that his life was ebbing away.

"He is fading serenely," Polish Cardinal Andrzej Maria Deskur, a close friend, was quoted as saying by Agi news agency. An update on his health was to be issued at around 5:30 a.m. - 6 a.m. EST, the Vatican said.

Pope Suffers Heart Attack

The condition of Pope John Paul II is "very grave," according to Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls. This announcement came early Friday morning after the Holy Father suffered a urinary tract infection, high fever, and heart failure the night before. John Paul also received the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, or the Annointing of the Sick last night as well. Despite his seemingly severe illness, the Pope has decided himself not to be taken to the hospital this time as in the past, but is instead being treated from his apartment in the Apostolic Palace of the Holy See. According to the New York Times:

... the new Vatican announcement on Friday morning made it clear that the John Paul II, the 264th pope and one of the longest serving in history, was close to death. It said that he had suffered "septic shock with cardiovascular collapse."