stressedPope John Paul II lies near death tonight inside the papal apartments of his Apostolic Palace within the Vatican City, Rome. The prayers of over one billion people are with him as his death has now become imminent rather than simply impending. The Successor of St. Peter, a man who faced the twin Twentieth Century tyrannies of fascism and communism and overcame both, is living his last hours in this world.
“This evening or tonight, Christ opens the doors to the Pope,” Monsignor Angelo Comastri said in St. Peter’s Square. “The successor of Peter, the fisherman, is dying,” American Cardinal Francis George said in Chicago.
