Struggling at times, pope holds weekly audience in St. Peter's Square

Published: 2003-10-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Although he cut significant portions of his main talk and appeared to lose his voice at one point, Pope John Paul II returned Oct. 1 to his normal general audience practices, including a tour around St. Peter's Square in an open popemobile. When the pope stopped and shook his head in the middle of a sentence, tears flowed from the eyes of several women in the square; the crowd burst into an encouraging applause and, after a few seconds, the pope resumed reading. Although he read less than a third of his main talk, Pope John Paul read all of his prepared remarks in French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish. Marking the beginning of the month dedicated to the rosary, Pope John Paul told Polish pilgrims that, "God willing," he would go to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii, Italy, Oct. 7 "to thank God for the great work of the sanctification of hearts accomplished uninterruptedly thanks to this marvelous prayer."

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