c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Poles sent a bouquet of red and white roses. Australian students sang at the entrance of the hospital. And Jewish and Muslim leaders heaped lavish praise on Pope John Paul II as the world prayed for a complete recovery for the 84-year-old pontiff hospitalized with complications from the flu.

Visitors to Rome who were scheduled to meet with the pope showed their support for him at Gemilli hospital, where he is being treated. A group of 700 from Poland, the pope’s native country, arrived in Rome Wednesday morning (Feb. 2) for a private audience. They sent him a huge bouquet of roses in the Polish colors of red and white.

Instead of meeting the pope as planned, another group of about 20 Australian students formed a semi-circle at the entrance of the hospital and sang the British pop band Oasis’ late 1990s hit “Wonderwall.”

Inside the hospital, staff gathered in a chapel, bowing their heads in prayer for their patient.

In the Chapel of St. Joseph in St. Peter’s Basilica, priests celebrating Mass said, “We pray that the Holy Father heals and that the Lord gives him his protection and blessing to be able to continue his mission on Earth and that he may continue to bring comfort to all men.”

In the United States, U.S. Catholic leaders also asked believers to remember the pope, whose condition was stable Wednesday, despite a slight fever.

Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement that Americans have a soft spot in their hearts for this Polish pope.

“He is a beloved figure,” said Skylstad, “who especially loves the church in the United States and appreciates our concern.”

Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit made a statement from the Vatican, where he is attending meetings.

“Lord, our God, you always provide your church with a chief shepherd to guide us in the ways of faith and hope,” Maida said. “Look kindly on our Holy Father and embrace him with your merciful love.”

Washington Archbishop Cardinal Theodore McCarrick called his staff from Dublin, Ireland, where he was discussing aid to developing nations at the World Faith Development Dialogue.

“We are all praying for the Holy Father that the Lord will give him the help to overcome this latest illness and to continue to serve the church with wisdom and strength,” McCarrick said in a statement.

Catholics throughout Great Britain lifted their voices in prayer for this pope, whose condition was weakened even before his current illness by a long battle with symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Speaking at the start of a special Mass for the pope in St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, said: “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.”

In London, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, archbishop of Westminster, offered prayers at Mass in Westminster Cathedral.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham told BBC radio that he had prayed for the pope to recover the strength to continue his duties. “My prayers this morning are that, in his hospital room, he is personally very peaceful,” he said. “I’m sure he will be because he’s a man of great spiritual depth.”

The archbishop said the pope “embraced” the role he had been given by God and would continue doing it to the best of his ability. “I think he’ll know that his life is in God’s hands and, when the time comes, he’ll go willingly to meet the Lord and he’ll go cheerfully.”

Muslim and Jewish groups expressed concern for the pope’s health and gratitude for his work in reaching out to people of other faiths.

“The pope has been a strong advocate for justice in the Middle East and Muslims recognize that,” said Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations.

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Sayyid Syeed, secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America, based in Plainfield, Ill., said he met Pope John Paul II in the Vatican several years ago.

“Under his leadership, the Catholic Church got involved in a crusade for bridge-building and promoting better understanding between Islam and Christianity,” Syeed said.

The pope has also taken steps in relations with people of the Jewish faith. His visit to the Rome synagogue in 1986 made him the first pope to enter a Jewish place of worship.

The chief rabbi of Rome, Riccardo di Segni, said Rome’s Jews were praying for the pope. “What we can do,” he said, “is to wish him a speedy cure and assure him of our prayers.”

MO/JL RNS END

(Robert Nowell contributed to this story from London.)