by Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II spent several minutes at the window of his hospital room March 6 waving to and blessing enthusiastic crowds at Rome's Gemelli hospital and in St. Peter's Square, and the Vatican later indicated he might be home by Easter.

The large screens in the Vatican square showed the 84-year-old pope, somewhat slumped in his wheeled throne, watching television as his delegate, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, led the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican. The pope's posture was more erect when the blinds on his hospital window were opened and he made the sign of the cross, blessing the hundreds of faithful who waited in the rain for a glimpse of him.

The Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said March 7, "We hope the pope will be in the Vatican for Holy Week," which begins with Palm Sunday, March 20. "I think the pope will be here for Holy Week; it is still 13 days away."

"When the pope is back at the Vatican, he will decide how to participate" in the Holy Week and Easter liturgies, the spokesman said.

He also said that Pope John Paul had been advised to observe "a prudent limitation of the use of his voice to allow the recuperation of the functioning of his larynx," which had been going into spasms, cutting off his air supply.

At the same time, the spokesman said the pope's ability to speak is improving because of the rehabilitation exercises he is performing each day.

The spokesman also said there had been no complications from the tracheotomy and that the tube allowing the pope to breathe through the hole cut in his throat was still in place. The pope's doctors have not said when they will remove the tube, he said.

The next medical bulletin is expected March 10, Navarro-Valls said.

In the pope's message for the March 6 Angelus, read by Archbishop Sandri, an assistant secretary of state, Pope John Paul again thanked all those who had sent "signs of affection" as he continued recovering from the Feb. 24 tracheotomy to ease breathing difficulties.

The pope thanked the cardinals, bishops, priests, pilgrim groups, ambassadors and ecumenical delegations that had made their way to the hospital, usually meeting a Vatican official, but rarely being admitted to the pope's 10th-floor room.

Pope John Paul said he wanted to extend special thanks to members of other religions, particularly Jews and Muslims, who "have wanted to come to pray here at the hospital. This is a comforting sign for me and one for which I thank God."

Representatives of the Italian Muslim community and the Jewish community of Rome had visited the hospital in the previous week, and Israel's ambassador to the Vatican arrived with a message from the country's chief Sephardic rabbi.

In his message, the pope also told the faithful, "We continue together our preparation for Easter, including by offering God our suffering for the good of humanity and for our own purification.

"In today's Gospel, Christ, healing the man born blind, presents himself as 'the light of the world.' He came to open our eyes to the light of faith," the pope wrote.

"Yes, my dear ones, faith is the light that guides us along the path of life, and it is the flame that comforts us at difficult moments," he said.

Ann Rafferty, a Catholic from Philadelphia, was in St. Peter's Square for the Angelus with five of her six children. Archbishop John P. Foley, a Philadelphia native and head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, translated the pope's Italian-language message for them.

Rafferty said: "It's inspiring just listening to his message. He's still reaching out to people, and he is a remarkable witness.

"As my cousin said, he taught us how to live and now he's teaching us how to die. I hate to think of this world without him here, so I hope he will make a recovery and return," she said. "He is giving a lot of courage to people, especially senior citizens."

As the pope spent his 12th day in the hospital, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, filled in for the pope March 7, accepting the credentials of new ambassadors from Austria and Greece.

Cardinal Sodano gave both ambassadors a personal message from Pope John Paul.

Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the pope's vicar for the Diocese of Rome, met with the pope March 5 at the hospital before going to the Vatican to preside over a gathering of European university students. The pope had been scheduled to participate in the event.

Instead, Cardinal Ruini read his message to the young people.

"I cannot be present among you, but I am just as close with my affection and my prayers," the pope wrote.

Pope John Paul thanked the university students for gathering together, reflecting on the Gospel and examining how their intellectual pursuits complement their faith lives as they prepare for the August celebration of World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany.

"There is no contradiction between faith and reason," the pope wrote. "This is demonstrated even by the experience of the Three Wise Men, who reached Bethlehem using both dimensions of the human spirit: intelligence, which scrutinizes the signs, and faith, which leads to adoring the mystery."

Tradition holds that the relics of the Three Wise Men are interred at the Cologne cathedral.

Pope John Paul asked the students to keep alive "the yearning to discover the truth about your existence."

"Faith and reason are the two wings that will lead you toward Christ," the pope said. "In him, you will find peace and joy."

Contributing to this story was John Thavis at the Vatican.