Pope returns home from hospital
Pope John Paul II returned to the Vatican from hospital yesterday in the early evening. He left the Gemelli hospital, where he spent two weeks recovering from throat surgery to ease breathing problems. Travelling in a gray Mercedes rather than his usual popemobile, he waved at crowds lining the road Earlier in the day the Holy Father addressed pilgrims for the first time since his tracheotomy. Speaking from his tenth floor window, he read a few words from a sheet of paper. In Polish, he thanked a group of pilgrims who had travelled from his birthplace in the southern Polish town of Wadowice to be among the crowd. In Italian, he said: "Dear brothers and sisters, thank you for your visit. To everyone, have a good Sunday and a good week." He then waved and blessed the crowd. The traditional Angelus prayer and blessing in St Peter's Square, was once read out by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri of Argentina. In a separate message read on his behalf, the Pope thanked the international media for bringing him close to the Catholic faithful around the world through radio, television and the internet. Source: VIS