Believers across the world united in prayer

MILLIONS of faithful around the world were praying for Pope John Paul II, as the 84-year-old head of the Catholic Church appeared to be approaching his final hours.

In the Pontiff’s homeland, crowds streamed into churches to pray for their revered countryman and moral authority.

Churches in the capital Warsaw and the southern city of Krakow, where Karol Wojtyla was archbishop before becoming Pope in 1978, filled with worshippers in that early hours as bulletins delivered the news that his condition was grave.