Poland prays for Pope's recovery

By Adam Easton
BBC News, Warsaw

Polish churches are packed with people praying for the Pope

Over the last few days millions of people in Pope John Paul II's homeland of Poland have been attending church to pray for his speedy recovery.

Special masses have been held and the Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski has sent him a get well message.

The Polish media has also been keenly watching events develop in Rome.

His readmittance to hospital, coming so soon after he left, has created a heightened sense of anxiety in Poland.

When it was revealed the Pope had undergone a tracheotomy to allow him to breathe, the Warsaw daily Zycie Warszawy's headline read: "Operation saved the Pope's life."

The best-selling Fakt tabloid warned "his life is in danger", and added the Pope's health had not been so bad since he was shot 24 years ago.

Polish 'superstar'

On Poland's TVN24 news channel, normal programming was interrupted every time there was a new development in the Pope's illness. When the newsreader said she had news that would interest "probably everyone", she wasn't exaggerating.

"Everyone loves the Pope here. He is a hero, he is a superstar, he is a great man, he is our beacon of light in these very dark difficult times of transition from communist rule to modern Poland," says Polish writer Adam Szostkiewicz.

He is still the most important Pole I think we have Adam Szostkiewicz, writer

"Even today when he is so frail and weak, an old man, he is still loved and admired. He is still the most important Pole I think we have."

In Warsaw's old town, the churches, like most Polish churches on a Sunday, were completely packed with people. As usual, those who couldn't squeeze in listened to the Mass on a loudspeaker by the entrance. Inside, prayers were said for the Pope.

At the beautiful baroque Dominican church, I asked Father Piotr Malicki if more people had been coming since the Pope went into hospital.

"Every day there are many people, so it's difficult to say in the last few days if there's more people than usually, but for sure many people have a great desire for prayers for the Pope."

'Father of the nation'

On the cobbled streets of the old town, everyone I asked said they were worried about the Pope's health.

"He is quite old and his disease is quite severe so I'm really, really afraid," said 32-year-old psychologist Rafal Milewski.

Emilia Laczek, 24, agreed.

"I am very sorry that he is suffering and I wish him all the best for all the days in his life and I hope he lives longer than most people think," she said. "And I can say that as a Polish girl I love him very much because he's sent from God, from Christ and he's a special one."

"He's like the father to our nation," said machine operator Konrad Sokolowski. "Everything that happens to him, it's always in the news here in Poland. Everybody is concerned and talking about it."

In Warsaw, there was a great deal of concern, but also some relief that the Pope appears to be getting better.