Vatican City, Apr 1, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The third-longest serving pontiff, after St. Peter and Pope Pius IX, died serenely at 9:37 p.m., Rome time, in his papal apartments overlooking St. Peter’s Square. His death, April 2, is on the eve of the Feast of the Divine Mercy, a feast-day that the Pope had instituted in the Church.
The announcement came from Vatican spokesperson Joaquin Navarro-Valls. Angelo Cardinal Sodano led the tens of thousands of Catholics and non-Catholics from around the world, who had gathered in St. Peter’s Square in prayer for the Pope.
On Friday, Camillo Cardinal Ruini celebrated an evening mass at St. John Lateran Basilica. Afterward, tens of thousands had gathered in St. Peter’s Square below the windows of the papal apartment to pray the Rosary, keep vigil, and to show the ailing pontiff their love and support.
Pope John Paul II, who had Parkinson’s and a debilitating hip and knee ailment, suffered from greater illness for the last two months. The 84-year-old Pope was admitted to hospital Feb. 1 for complications related to the flu. He was admitted three weeks later and underwent a tracheotomy.