Pope John Paul II hears confessions

Pope John Paul II heard confessions from 12 people in St Peter’s Basilica today, hours before a solemn procession at Rome’s Coliseum.

The frail, 80-year-old pope sat for an hour in a wooden booth, hearing confessions in Italian, English, Spanish, Portuguese and his native Polish.

The evening Good Friday procession, which symbolically traces Christ’s path to his crucifixion, has been modified this year in deference to John Paul’s age and health.

He turns 81 on May 18 and suffers from Parkinson’s disease.

The Pope used to carry a wooden cross for the half-mile procession.

This year he will watch most of the rite while kneeling and pick up the cross only at the end.

John Paul’s Easter Week schedule also includes a vigil service tomorrow night moved into St Peter’s Square from the basilica to accommodate an expected crowd of more than 25,000 people and an Easter Mass on Sunday.