Indian Church prays for ailing Pope

New Delhi – Hundred of thousands of Catholics in India are flocking cathedrals and churches to pray for the recovery of their spiritual leader, the Pope John Paul II who was hospitalised last week due to flu and other ailments.

“Cardinals, archbishops, bishops and the faithful in 149 dioceses in the country have been offering Masses and prayers for the speedy recovery of ailing Pope John Paul II,” announced Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, the Archbishop of Ranchi.

The president of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) said that the octogenerian spiritual head of more than one billion Catholics worldwide is recuperating from influenza but will be kept under observation for a few more days.

In a recent statement, the Vatican said that Pope John Paul II was making a steady recovery from flu and a respiratory crisis and is expected to stay in hospital for about a week or so.

The pontiff was hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic with the flu and after suffering a momentary blockage to his breathing on the night of February 1 and doctors kept watch for further complications.

Asked when the Catholic head would leave the hospital, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro–Valls told reporters, " There is no cause for alarm. The Pope is well rested and the laboratory tests that have been carried out have given satisfactory results. It will be up to the doctors to decide. However, in my experience, we're talking about a week or more."

The Pope will be hospitalized for a few more days to afford "many means to stay ready for any complications," said Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, head of the Vatican’s health care office.

The Pope is also suffering from Parkinson's disease and crippling hip and knee ailments, and his inability to hold his back up straight has left his lungs and diaphragm in a crushed position.

Cardinal Toppo, along with the Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil of Verapoly, on February 3 offered Mass for the Pope’s recovery in Cochin in southern Kerala. February 3 coincidentally is the 19th anniversary of the Pope’s historic visit to Ranchi archdiocese where the pontiff met the people on February 3, 1986.

“When I met the Pope in Rome in 2003, he came across as intelligent and sharp and very much aware of the affairs of the church all over the world”, said Bishop Percival J. Fernandez, secretary general of CBCI, adding hopefully, “God will hear the prayers.”

Jesuit Archbishop Pascal Topno of Bhopal said that news of the Pope’s hospitalization came like a bolt from the blue and that his entire archdiocese had joined the rest of the dioceses in the country praying for the pontiff.

Archbishop Abraham Viruthakulangara of Nagpur said he had issued a circular to all the parishes, Catholic institutions and heads of religious to offer prayers for the Pope’s recovery.

According to media reports, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said that Americans' "thoughts and prayers are with the Holy Father," and in Rome, chief rabbi Riccarco Di Segni offered prayers for a quick recovery.

The reports said in Mexico City, the Basilica of Guadalupe remained open during the night for anyone who wished to offer prayers. It was here, in 2002, that the Pope canonized Indian saint Juan Diego during a fifth visit to the country, where he remains immensely popular.

Hundreds of people are gathering everyday, outside the Gemelli clinic, nicknamed "The Third Vatican" because the Pope has been admitted a half dozen times before, the first time in 1981 after he was shot by a Turkish gunman on St. Peter's Square in 1981.

The first sign of the frail Pope's illness appeared in January 31, when he kept clearing his throat during a 20–minute appearance at his studio window, thrown wide open on one of Rome's coldest days in years so he could release a pair of doves symbolizing peace into St. Peter's Square. The flu has been sweeping through Italy since December, and the Rome region has been among the hardest–hit.