Papal Message Interrupted By Bout Of Flu Fever, Nausea Cause John Paul Ii To Cut Short Christmas Remarks

Fever and nausea forced Pope John Paul II to miss Christmas High Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday and to interrupt his annual Christmas message.

It was the first time since his election to the papacy in 1978 that John Paul had not attended Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s, and Vatican officials said he had canceled plans to visit his vacation residence today. But they emphasized that the 75-year-old pope was not seriously ill and had been suffering from influenza.

He appeared in St. Peter’s on Christmas Eve to celebrate midnight Mass, the first of three Masses for the feast of Christ’s birth. The pope’s weakness appeared to be the result of a habit of pushing himself to the utmost, even when unwell.

After missing the high Mass at St. Peter’s on doctors’ orders Monday morning because of a fever, the pope appeared at the window of his private study in the papal palace - instead of the ceremonial balcony at the center of the facade of St. Peter’s, as is customary at Christmas - to deliver his “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) message before a crowd of 20,000.

But after pronouncing the Christmas message in Italian and French, two of the some 50 languages the pope intended to use, he experienced nausea, excused himself and turned from the window.

About 20 minutes later he reappeared and, excusing himself again, said to the excited crowd: “Thank you for your patience. You see that even the pope has his weaknesses. Yet I try to resist.”

His words met with huge applause from the crowd.

The pope, whose appearance was being broadcast live by television stations in some 67 nations when he fell ill, then thanked the assembled faithful and, tracing the sign of the cross in blessing, repeated Christmas wishes several times in Italian.

The pope’s health has drawn wide attention recently. He was forced to postpone several major trips in 1994, including one to the United States, after he fell in his bathroom and underwent hip replacement surgery that entailed a long and difficult recovery. In 1992, John Paul had intestinal surgery.

Yet the pope has since resumed his grueling travel schedule, including a visit in October to the United States, although his travels now usually include fewer public appearances than previously and more time for rest.

A Vatican spokesman, Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, later explained to reporters that John Paul already felt weak after the midnight Mass, which was attended by 12,000 people.

Navarro-Valls, who is a physician, said the pope, after greeting members of the papal household on the way to his quarters, had retired at about 3 a.m. Monday and then arose at 6, after only three hours sleep, with a fever of 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

After an examination by his personal physician, Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, he agreed to forgo the celebration of private Mass in his quarters and solemn High Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. That Mass was celebrated instead by Cardinal Virgilio Noe, a senior cleric on the basilica staff.

But the pope insisted on appearing at his office window overlooking St. Peter’s Square to address the faithful, the appearance that he was forced to interrupt.

Navarro-Valls said the pope, who had been taking medication for influenza, had probably been weakened at the Christmas Eve Mass by the length of the service - more than two hours - and oppressive heat in the basilica caused by an unusual warm spell here.

Before the pope was forced to interrupt his words, he used Monday’s Christmas message to remember scattered families and refugees in war-affected areas including Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq and the Sudan.