Doctors have performed a tracheotomy operation on Pope John Paul II tonight to help ease his breathing problems.
Pope John Paul II
A tracheotomy is a surgical procedure in which a hole is made in the throat and a tube is inserted to assist breathing. The Vatican said the operation was completed in "a positive way" and lasted 30 minutes.
Hours earlier, the 84-year-old Pope, who has been suffering from debilitating Parkinson's disease for more than a decade, was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance for the second time in a month after suffering fever and congestion from a recurrence of the flu.
The Vatican said the Pope had returned to Rome's Gemelli hospital for "specialist care and further checks". A Church source said the Pontiff was running a fever and had suffered a repeat of the respiratory crisis that forced him to stay in the hospital earlier this month.
A Vatican spokesman said the Pope had been informed of his situation and gave approval for the operation. John Paul will be spending the night at the hospital, the papal spokesman said.
The tracheotomy is likely have serious consequences for the Pope's abilities to carry on his duties. The operation would prevent him from speaking for an extended period and will probably require a long hospital stay. Anaesthesia is also risky for someone of the Pope's age, especially considering his Parkinson's disease.
Church leaders urged the faithful to pray for the man who has led the 1.1-billion member Roman Catholic Church for 26 years and has made personal suffering a byword of the last years of his papacy. "I call on all the diocese of Rome to gather in prayer for our most loved bishop and the father of the faith," said Dr Camillo Ruini, the Cardinal of Rome.
The ailing Pope had been expected to attend a ceremony today to approve sainthood decrees, which took place in the frescoed Clementia Hall metres from his private study in the Apostolic Palace.
Cardinals and bishops were gathered in the hall awaiting his arrival, but aides decided at the last moment that the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, would preside instead, leaving the Pope to watch the event on television.
The Pope penned several words for Sodano to read, telling the cardinals he was watching from his adjacent apartment. His health then took yet another turn for the worse and doctors ordered his immediate transfer by ambulance to the Gemelli hospital, four kilometres from the Vatican.
The deterioration of the Pope's health will revive fears throughout the Catholic world that one of the most historic pontificates is nearing an end.
It was the tenth time that John Paul has had to be treated at the Gemelli since becoming Pope on October 16th, 1978. The Vatican had previously said the Pope was making a steady recovery and he had made a handful of appearances over the past two weeks, looking gaunt and still showing the signs of the flu.
His hospitalisation earlier this month revived debate on what the Church would do if he became permanently incapacitated, and raised speculation that he might decide to retire, which is possible under Church law but extremely rare.