The Pope's belief in daily prayer

The Pope authorises the changes to the Rosary

By Peter Gould BBC News Online

Once again, Pope John Paul II has sprung a surprise on the Catholic Church.

His decision to amend the Rosary brings an unexpected change to one of the church's oldest forms of prayer.

The Rosary is thought to have been created by St Dominic in the 13th Century.

We must rediscover the profound mysticism contained in the simplicity of this prayer

John Paul II

In its present form, it has been unchanged since Pope Pius V standardised the prayer cycle in 1569.

It is such an everyday part of Catholic worship that tinkering with the wording would have risked offending traditionalists.

Simplicity

But John Paul II loves this form of prayer, and far from diminishing the Rosary, he is expanding it.

The Rosary is a daily prayer for Catholics

His intention, as he explained recently, is for Catholics "to rediscover the beauty and the depth" of the Rosary.

Announcing his decision to pilgrims in St Peter's Square, the Pope said it would mark the start of the Year of the Rosary.

"We must rediscover the profound mysticism contained in the simplicity of this prayer, dear to popular tradition," he said.

The new Rosary now includes the "mysteries of light", a reference to various episodes in the life of Christ.

"This addition of these new mysteries, without prejudice to any essential aspect of the prayer's format, is to give it fresh life and to rekindle renewed interest in the Rosary's place within Christian spirituality," said the Pope in an apostolic letter detailing the changes.

Personal

The Pope is a firm believer in this everyday form of prayer, which is not confined to services in church.

He is urging Catholic families to recite the Rosary together.

The busy papacy of John Paul II

13 papal encyclicals

464 saints created

1,055 audiences for the faithful

16 million pilgrims greeted in Rome

1,430 meetings with world leaders

742,000 miles travelled

The announcement was timed to coincide with the 24th anniversary of his election as Pope.

During his lengthy papacy, he has created 464 saints and 201 cardinals, and has written 13 encyclicals on major issues of faith.

He has also held 1,430 meetings with politicians and heads of state.

Despite his increasing frailty, he has made it clear he has no intention of standing down, and his personal decision to change the Rosary underlines the fact that he is still running the Vatican.

At the ceremony in St Peter's Square, he prayed for strength "in body and spirit" so that he could continue his mission "until the end".

Pilgrims

According to the Vatican, only four other popes have reigned longer, and that includes the very first pope, St Peter.

The Rosary is the Pope's favourite prayer

During the past 24 years, John Paul II has made 98 overseas trips, travelling 742,000 miles (1.2 million km).

That is three times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

He has presided over 1,055 weekly general audiences, attended by a total of 16.5 million pilgrims from all over the world.

His lengthy papacy means that many of the cardinals once tipped to succeed him have either died or are now retired.

In February last year, he created a record number of new cardinals, taking the number eligible to vote in a papal election up to 135.

The number has now fallen to 114, and given the Pope's determination to continue his mission, he may yet have time to hold another consistory to create more cardinals.

One thing is clear. As he begins the 25th year of his papacy, John Paul II is still very much in charge.