POPE John Paul II is being fed through a tube in his nose, the Vatican said yesterday, shortly after the frail Pontiff appeared at his window in St Peter’s Square and managed only a rasp when he tried to speak.

The Pope spoke with a top Vatican official in German and Italian today, a cardinal said, suggesting the ailing pontiff was making significant strides toward recovery after throat surgery to ease a breathing crisis.

Pope John Paul II made a surprise appearance from a hospital window in Rome today, waving to the faithful just after a top Vatican official on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica read a statement from the pontiff asking for prayers.

Pope John Paul has “just a little fever”, his spokesman said today in elaborating on a terse medical bulletin issued by the Vatican.