E-Paper
Pope John Paul II passes away
The 84-year-old spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church's 1.1 billion members passed away at 9:37 pm (1937 GMT) on Saturday, after two days of heart and kidney failure and two months of acute breathing problems and other ailments.
Grief and praise rippled around the world on Sunday for Pope John Paul II, whose death overnight ended a 26-year pontificate that helped topple communism in Europe and struggled for peace everywhere.
The 84-year-old spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church's 1.1 billion members passed away at 9:37 pm (1937 GMT) on Saturday, after two days of heart and kidney failure and two months of acute breathing problems and other ailments.
The pain of bereavement was palpable in St Peter's Square, under the windows of the pope's Vatican apartment, where he died.
A crowd of over 100,000 filled the space at the news of the death before shrinking to 5,000 hard-core mourners in the pre-dawn hours.
Tears glistened on cheeks while prayers were murmured by priests, nuns, ordinary Romans and foreigners to speed the pope's "reunion with God".
Inside the Vatican, cardinals made preparations for the nine days of mourning that follow a Pope's death, and for the conclave that will be called later this month to elect a successor.
A public mass was to be held on Sunday morning on the first of three days of official mourning declared by the Italian government.
The Holy See announced the Pope's death in a brief e-mail statement to journalists.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls later said the Pope died after a bedside mass celebrated by aides, during which he was given the last rites. His body was to be brought to St Peter's Basilica on Monday afternoon for the faithful to file past in homage, he said.
The cardinals were to hold a congregation that day to plan the pontiff's funeral.
Italy's ANSA news agency, citing reliable sources, said it would take place on Thursday at the earliest.
Bells tolled across Rome and the Pope's native Poland after his death, as world leaders paid tribute to his unstinting battle for freedom and recalled his notable contribution to the collapse of communism in eastern Europe.
John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in four-and-a-half centuries and the first from eastern Europe.
Born Karol Wojtyla in humble conditions in Poland, he became head of the church in October 1978 at age 58 and set about imprinting his agenda and warm, communicative style on it.
Eschewing the pomp of predecessors, he won over crowds and statesmen alike with his commitment to peace and fighting poverty. His support of the Solidarity trade union when it was banned in communist Poland, was credited with helping start a chain reaction that led to the fall of the pro-Soviet regimes, which had held half the continent in their thrall for 40 years.
But he also dismayed many followers with his deeply conservative views on sex and contraception in the age of AIDS.
Throughout his years as Pope, though, he was adept at spreading his message through the media, becoming one of the most recognisable figures on the planet because of television exposure and his visits to 129 countries.
In 1981, the Pope was nearly killed in an assassination attempt by rightwing Turkish fanatic Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot him at close range in Saint Peter's Square. He survived only after extensive surgery and personally forgave his jailed attacker two years later.
Pope John Paul II met almost every significant head of state or Government, from US presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton to Kremlin leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, from emperor Hirohito of Japan to Queen Elizabeth II of Britain.
Under his leadership, the Vatican opened diplomatic relations with Israel in 1993. He was the first Pope to pray in a synagogue in 1986.
He courageously maintained his punishing schedule despite suffering the ravages of Parkinson's disease and arthritis in his later years and eventually being confined to a wheelchair -- a sad diminishment for a man who was once an accomplished and enthusiastic sportsman.
But his final spiral began when he was rushed to hospital on February 1. Breathing and lung problems left him without a voice in his last days, despite valiant efforts to speak to the faithful.
His passing elicited eulogies from around the world.
Cuba's communist government ordered a three-day period of mourning in an unusual gesture of respect for the Roman Catholic leader, whose 1998 visit helped thaw relations between the church and the state.
US President George W Bush said the Roman Catholic Church "has lost its shepherd, the world has lost a champion of human freedom and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home".
UN chief Kofi Annan hailed the Pope as a tireless advocate of peace and a pioneer of inter-faith dialogue. Israel and the Palestinian Authority voiced their condolences.
John Paul II's death inevitably focussed speculation on his likely successor, a choice experts believe will reflect the profound changes within the Catholic Church over the past decades.
Despite the popularity and prestige he brought to the papacy, many observers believe the secret conclave of cardinals -- a meeting held under lock and key in the Sistine Chapel -- will revert to tradition with an Italian.
If so, names touted include Dionigi Tettamanzi, the 70-year-old archbishop of Milan.
The conclave must convene between 15 and 20 days after a Pope's death. According to tradition, they signal their agreement on a new Pope by sending white smoke up the chimney stack visible from St Peter's Square.
