Pope John Paul II’s own suffering kept him away from his flock on Good Friday, but he appeared via video at the Way of the Cross commemoration of Christ’s suffering at Rome’s torchlit Colosseum.

A drawn-looking Pope John Paul II, unable to preside over Palm Sunday Mass for the first time in his 26-year papacy, appeared at his apartment window to greet tens of thousands of pilgrims who filled St. Peter’s Square today.

Pope John Paul, back in the Vatican after hospital treatment but still frail, sent a message of support to the sick today, saying he feels especially close with them and asking for their prayers.