Lourdes faithful cheer ailing Pope

A FRAIL Pope John Paul II, breathing heavily and gasping at times, celebrated an open-air Mass yesterday for several hundred thousand pilgrims, many in wheelchairs, at a shrine to the Virgin Mary associated with miraculous cures.

At one point he said “help me” in Polish while struggling through his homily in French. Aides brought him a glass of water, and he said he wanted to complete his remarks. He did, although skipping several sections, and raised his voice to express “special affection” for the sick.

The crowd applauded at times to encourage him. The 84-year-old Pope has Parkinson’s disease and crippling hip and knee ailments. He also drew cheers for his message - condemnation of materialism and secularism, and a call for women to reject abortion.