Latest on Pope John Paul

The Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that Pope Paul was in a stable condition at the Gemelli Hospital today, after being treated for an acute laryngeal tracheitis. He said: "During the night, respiratory assistance therapy was continued which allowed for a stabilization of the clinical picture. Cardio-respiratory and metabolic parameters are currently within normal range. "During his stay the Holy Father's condition has been monitored by Prof. Rodolfo Proietti, the director of the emergency department." Navarro-Valls said Pope John Paul, rested fairly well during the night, celebrated Mass from his hospital bed at 10.15am with his secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz and even had a light breakfast "and some coffee." he said the Pope's fever was "very, very slight." and that last evening's hurried admission to the hospital was "a precautionary measure" given that the 84-year old Pope had difficulty breathing. He added that no further medical bulletins are expected today. This is the ninth time the Holy Father has been admitted to a hospital during his pontificate: Two of those occasions - July 1993 and August 1996 - were only for a few hours to undergo a CAT scan. Pope's previous hospital visits: 1981: May 13, admitted to Gemelli Hospital after being shot in St. Peter's Square, undergoes a six-hour operation. 1981: June 20, Pope is readmitted to Gemelli and undergoes a second surgery on August 5. 1992: July 15, surgery for benign tumour in colon. 1993: July 2, undergoes CAT scan as a follow-up to 1992 surgery; in Gemelli for several hours in the evening. 1993: November 11, in Gemelli polyclinic following fracture of his right shoulder. 1994: April 29, admitted to Gemelli following a fall the previous evening during which he broke his femur. 1996: August 14, at Regina Apostolorum Clinic in Albano, undergoes a CAT scan. 1996: October 8, undergoes an appendectomy at Gemelli Hospital. *Prayers have been said around the world for the Pope. Speaking before Mass in St Mary's Cathedral Edinburgh Cardinal Keith O'Brien said: "We are gathered today to pray for the intentions of Pope John Paul II. We are all aware of his frail health at this present time and are aware that he is in hospital in Rome, following on a serious bout of influenza. "On this Candlemas Day, we pray as we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. As Jesus was a light to the world, so we thank God for the light which the Pope has given to so many people throughout his 27 years of service as a Christian leader. And we pray that the light of his teaching may continue to spread throughout the world, especially in places where there is the darkness of war and unrest, of disease and suffering". Source: VIS/Scottish Catholic Media Office