POPE John Paul II yesterday returned to the Vatican just one week after undergoing surgery for the removal of an inflamed appendix at Rome's Policlinico Gemelli hospital, writes Paddy Agnew from Rome.
The Pope (76) has been hospitalised there six times in his 18-year pontificate and he usually concludes his hospital stays with a visit to the children's cancer ward.
Yesterday, he spent a poignant half-hour in a ward containing 30 children, 10 of whom are considered terminally ill.
Looking well and standing unassisted, the Pope greeted the children, stopping to distribute rosary beads and to exchange a few brief words with some of their obviously distressed parents.
Francesco Lo Re, a three-year old boy with a brain tumour, presented flowers to the Pope. Before visiting the children's ward the Pope had his stitches removed yesterday morning. Doctors have ordered the Pope to rest as much as possible and his next public appearance is scheduled for Sunday when he will recite the Angelus and make his weekly address from the window of his apartments, overlooking St Peter's Square.
Given the Pope's celebrated workrate it is possible that he will make a brief address from the same apartment window today, on what is the 18th anniversary of his 1978 election as the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years.
Next week, on All Saints Day, the Pope marks another more private anniversary when he celebrates 50 years since his ordination as a priest in Cracow on November 1st, 1946.