A Healthier Pontiff Returns to the Vatican

Nine days after critical breathing trouble landed him in the hospital, Pope John Paul II emerged from the medical complex Thursday, boarded his glass-encased “popemobile” and rode through the streets of Rome to his home in the Vatican.

From his vehicle, John Paul waved haltingly at crowds outside Gemelli Polyclinic on the northern outskirts of the Italian capital and at people awaiting him in St. Peter’s Square.

The surprise decision to use the specially fitted car for the three-mile journey, instead of an ambulance, such as the one that rushed him to the hospital late at night on Feb. 1, was seen as the Vatican’s attempt to reassure an anxious public. The 84-year-old pontiff’s illness fanned uncertainty over the future of the Roman Catholic Church and renewed the debate over whether John Paul, the third-longest-serving pope, should step down.

The flu-induced swelling of the throat and larynx that “motivated the urgent hospitalization of the Holy Father has been cured,” papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Thursday. The pope had been diagnosed with acute laryngeal tracheitis, an inflammation of the trachea that can block the flow of air. He also suffers from Parkinson’s disease and acute arthritis, both of which exacerbated his condition in the last 10 days.

Navarro-Valls said that the pontiff’s condition continued to improve and that tests, including a CT scan, had ruled out “other pathologies.”

But he would not say whether the pope’s voice would be strong enough to recite prayers Sunday.

After Sunday, John Paul is to begin a weeklong meditation for the Christian penitential season of Lent, giving him a chance to rest before Easter, away from the media and public.

Thursday’s ride offered the public its first glimpse of the pope since he appeared at his hospital window Sunday and delivered a short blessing. An archbishop stood at his side then and read aloud the pontiff’s message proclaiming his determination to persevere as head of the church.

Sunday’s appearance became entangled in the kind of intrigue that surrounds many matters of the papacy -- a reflection of the uncertainty about the pope’s health, fed by the secrecy that senior Vatican officials maintain.

After the pope’s blessing from his hospital window, Italian journalists speculated that he had been too weak to speak and officials had dubbed in an old recording of his voice. The Vatican denied those theories.

John Paul did not officiate at Ash Wednesday services this week, the first time he has missed them since becoming pope in 1978. He observed the holy day in his hospital room. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, a period of fasting and reflection that lasts until Easter Sunday.

Thursday’s public ride appeared to have been an attempt by the Holy See to show that the frail pope is relatively well. His customized vehicle is equipped with a hydraulic lift that hoists the pontiff aboard to compensate for his difficulty moving.

The pope’s trip home -- with his transport leading a convoy of sleek, black cars accompanied by police on motorcycles, their sirens wailing and lights flashing -- was broadcast live on Italian television.