Pontiff Offers Belated Greetings for Christmas
Appearing weakened and tired, Pope John Paul II rose from his sickbed Tuesday to offer belated Christmas greetings after spending the holiday battling fever and nausea.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the flu-like symptoms had “almost completely disappeared” but that the 75-year-old pontiff planned two full days of rest. He is taking flu medication.
Illness kept him from celebrating Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. The pope managed to finish delivering his Christmas message from the window of the papal apartment before nausea forced him to cut short his tradition of offering holiday greetings in dozens of languages.
On Tuesday, he offered a shortened list: six languages, including English, rather than the 54 planned for Christmas.
His voice sometimes wavering and lacking force, the pope left out any mention of his health or the abrupt break in his Christmas address--the first time he failed to finish a major holiday speech.
It was in strong contrast to recent appearances by the pope, who had appeared to regain some of his vitality and stamina after a long recovery from hip replacement surgery last year.
The pope’s next scheduled public appearance is a Mass in Rome on New Year’s Eve.
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