Pope makes surprise public appearance

VATICAN CITY – Touching his throat fitted with a breathing tube, Pope John Paul II on Sunday made a surprise first public appearance after surgery, appearing at his hospital window just moments after a Vatican official stood on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica to read the pontiff’s appeal for prayers.

The 84-year-old pope did not speak during his one-minute greeting from Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic hospital, but sent an implicit and powerful message about his determination to maintain continuity in the church.

The appearance – in which the seated pope waved and appeared alert – raised hopes he was making progress following a tracheotomy Thursday to ease a breathing crisis. The Vatican had previously announced John Paul would skip his weekly blessing – a 26-year tradition he did not miss even after he was shot in 1981 and recovering from an operation in 1992.

The Vatican’s undersecretary of state, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, read a message from the pope while standing between the towering statues of St. Peter and St. Paul outside the basilica.

The pope, wearing his usual white robe, waved with his right hand and made signs of the cross to about 200 people on the hospital grounds. The appearance was the clearest sign the pope has made strides since surgery. But how far and lasting a recovery remain central questions. The next official health update was expected today.