Vatican City, Apr 1, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Pope John Paul died after attending the Mass of the Divine Mercy, a feast he personally established three years ago, revealed the Vatican in a press release.
The Holy Father died at 9:37 p.m. in his private apartment.
“At 8 p.m., Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls explained “the celebration of Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday began in the Holy Father's room, presided by Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz with the participation of Cardinal Marian Jaworski, of Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko and of Msgr. Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki.”
During the Mass, the Holy Father received Holy Communion and the Anointing of the Sick.
“The Holy Father's final hours were marked by the uninterrupted prayer of all those who were assisting him in his pious death, and by the choral participation in prayer of the thousands of faithful who, for many hours, had been gathered in St. Peter's Square,” said the Vatican statement.