Pope Suffers Heart Failure

Pope John Paul has suffered heart failure and the Vatican today said his condition was very serious but he was "lucid and serene".

The Vatican confirmed that the frail pontiff had been read the Catholic sacrament for the sick and dying last night, once known as the "last rites".

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement yesterday afternoon that the Pope had experienced septic shock and cardiac arrest after developing a urinary tract infection.

A heart failure occurs when the heart no longer has the strength to pump blood through the body, and is a sign that the body's cardiac system is failing. "This morning the condition of the Holy Father is very serious," the Vatican said in a later statement this morning.

The Vatican said that the Pope had participated in a 6am (0500BST) mass today and that "the Holy Father is conscious, lucid, and serene".

The health of the Pope, who is 84, declined sharply yesterday when he developed a high fever brought on by the infection.

Mr Navarro-Valls said it was the Pope's wish to remain in his apartment at the Vatican and not be taken to hospital.

The pontiff was being attended to by the Vatican medical team, and provided with "all the appropriate therapeutic provisions and cardio-respiratory assistance", the statement said.

It said the Pope was being helped by his personal doctor, two intensive care doctors, a cardiologist, an ear, nose and throat specialist and two nurses. Another medical bulletin would be released later this morning.

Speaking in London, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, said his thoughts were with the Pope, who had resided over "the most extraordinary papacy".

He said it was no surprise that the Pope's condition had become serious because he had been ill for some time. Fellow Catholics and many others around the world "will be praying for him at this time", he added.