A weak Pope John Paul struggled to celebrate a mass for tens of thousands of people in Slovakia today, including many who crossed the border from his native Poland fearing it was the last time they would see him.
The 83-year-old pope, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and can no longer walk, had difficulty pronouncing the prayers at the mass on a field in the far eastern part of the country.
The pope, who has looked exceptionally weak on his 102nd trip abroad, braved a stiff winds in the foothills of the Carpathian mountains, where he said mass in a natural amphitheatre.
Wearing gold vestments and his head slumped at times, the pope could see dozens of Polish flags waved by fellow Poles who crossed the border some 150 km away to see him.
Speaking in a feeble voice at the end of the two-hour mass, he told them and others who had entered the country to see him: "Your turnout and singing has pleased my heart."
The pope started the trip on Thursday and was so weak that aides had to help him finish his two speeches on his first day.
His strength bounced back a bit yesterday, when he spoke in a clearer and firmer voice, but today he seemed very weak again as he presided at the mass and sounded short of breath at times.
He read only brief parts of his sermon in Slovak and Hungarian. In what now appears to have become a scripted part of the tour, a Slovak cardinal read most of it for him to help him conserve his strength.