c. 2004 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY _ Pope John Paul II, the second longest-serving pontiff in the recorded history of the Catholic Church, marks the 26th anniversary of his election on Saturday (Oct. 16) with no intention of retiring despite his increasing frailty.

According to Vatican records, John Paul has reigned longer than any other pope except Pius IX, who served for 31 years between 1846 and 1878. The reign of St. Peter, the first pope, is believed to have been longer, but the dates are not documented.

In contrast to last year’s gala celebrations of his quarter-century in office, which included a twilight Mass at the exact hour of John Paul’s election, a consistory to create new cardinals and the beatification of Mother Teresa, the 26th anniversary is a low-key event.

The Red Army Chorus will give a concert in the pope’s honor in the Paul VI Audience Hall on Friday night, but Saturday will be a regular working day.

John Paul has been promised at least one 26th anniversary present, however a 1:5 scale model of the fire-engine red Ferrari F2004 Formula 1 racer that is in line to win both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships again this year.

Luca Cordero, president of Ferrari, Fiat and the Italian organization of industrialists, said he thought of the present because he remembered seeing the pope drive a Ferrari convertible one lap around the Fiorano test track in northern Italy on a visit to the Ferrari establishment in 1989.

It is doubtful that the 84-year-old pope would be able to drive a Ferrari or any other car today. For the last decade he has been progressively debilitated by Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disorder.

John Paul is confined to a glorified wheelchair, a throne on a wheeled platform. Because of the disease, he has tremors of his left hand, struggles to articulate his words and often sits with his head bowed or lolling to one side.

But the pope has said repeatedly that he intends to remain leader of the world’s more than 1 billion Catholics for as long as he lives. Popes have retired on rare occasions in past centuries, but John Paul has made clear that he does not consider retirement an option.

Judging by his frequent unscripted remarks at audiences and Masses, the pope’s mind is as sharp as ever.

Despite his physical infirmities, John Paul has maintained a busy schedule. The Vatican reported that in the 26th year of his pontificate, he saw 1,512,300 people at his general and private audiences, liturgical celebrations and the Angelus prayer.

Since his election, he has met with 426 heads of state, kings and queens, 187 prime ministers and 190 foreign ministers and received the credentials of 642 ambassadors, the Vatican said.

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John Paul has a new book, the fifth he has produced during his pontificate, coming out in Italian in the spring. The book, to be published by Rizzoli, is titled “Memory and Identity: Conversations Straddling the Millenniums.”

A collection of philosophical reflections on 20th century history, the book grew out of conversations John Paul had at his country residence in Castelgandolfo during the summer of 1993 with Polish philosophers Jozef Tischner and Krzysztof Michalski.

In a provocative excerpt presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair earlier this month, the pope, who was a strong defender of the Solidarity labor movement in his native Poland, describes communism as “an evil in some way necessary to the world and to man.”

John Paul has made 104 trips outside Italy, including visits to the Swiss capital of Bern in June and the French shrine of Lourdes in August. According to Vatican statistics, his foreign travels and trips within Italy total 1,247,613 km (773,520 miles), the equivalent of more than 31 times around the earth or 3.24 flights to the moon.

The trips have gotten shorter, however. He spent less than a day and a half in Bern and in Lourdes, and his doctors persuaded him to decline an invitation to travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, for this week’s eucharistic congress opening the church’s Year of the Eucharist.

One more trip is still possible this year. During a visit to Rome in June, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I invited the pope to lead the Vatican delegation that traditionally visits Istanbul for the feast of the Orthodox patron St. Andrew on Nov. 30.

In addition, John Paul has created more blesseds (1,338) and saints (482) than all his predecessors combined since the process leading to sainthood was reformed four centuries ago. Another 1,000 candidates are waiting in the wings.

MO/JL END RNS