Pope marks John Paul's death

The Pope praised the “human and supernatural” qualities of John Paul II during a mass marking the third anniversary of the Polish pontiff’s death today.

He compared the suffering of his predecessor’s last months to that of Christ on the cross. In the last years of John Paul’s pontificate, Parkinson’s disease slowly sapped the energy of the once-vigorous church leader, and in the end left him unable to speak. He was 84 when he died.