Brady calls on Irish Catholics to pray for ailing Pope

Archbishop Sean Brady has called on Catholics in Ireland to pray for Pope John Paul II, who is close to death in the Vatican after suffering heart failure last night.

The 84-year-old Pontiff is in a serious condition and "fading serenely" at his apartment in St Peter's Square, where he has chosen to stay rather than go into hospital.

Dr Brady, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, said today: "I ask Catholics to continue to pray fervently for Pope John Paul II, that he may be united ever more closely with Jesus in his suffering and be given all the graces that he needs at this time."