Thousands celebrate pope's 25th anniversary

Pope John Paul is celebrating his 25th anniversary as head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinals from around the world are joining thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's square for a mass in honour of the 83-year-old pope.

He appeared in relatively good form when presided at his weekly general audience yesterday before tens of thousands of pilgrims.

But while his voice was strong he had difficulty at times in uttering his words. He suffers from Parkinson's disease.

The pope's fragile health has appeared to go into steep decline recently and speculation about how long he might live or who might succeed him have inevitably cast a long shadow over the festivities.

Cardinals and bishops from around the world and official delegations from many countries will attend a Mass in St Peter's Square tonight.

English Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor had an audience with John Paul on Tuesday and said he found him lucid, able to understand everything and respond, yet weak and obviously having trouble speaking.

"I think these next couple of weeks are going to be difficult for him because there are so many functions, but knowing John Paul, he will do it," he said.