Vigil held for ailing Pope

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Catholics in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area join others of their faith in prayer for an ailing Pope John Paul Second. <br/><br/>About 550 people attended a special Mass Monday at

Tuesday, March 1st 2005, 6:33 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Catholics in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area join others of their faith in prayer for an ailing Pope John Paul Second.

About 550 people attended a special Mass Monday at Our Lady's Cathedral led by the Most Reverend Eusebius Beltran, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

Beltran told those gathered that the faithful have witnessed the Pope's prayerfulness and benefited from his authentic Catholic teaching for the past three decades.

Numerous prayer vigils have been held around the world in recent weeks as the pope's health continues to be a subject of concern.

The 84-year-old pope was hospitalized with severe breathing problems February 24th for the second time in a month. The Vatican says he was in good condition yesterday as he recovered from surgery on his windpipe and started exercises to rehabilitate his breathing and speaking.

The pope's breathing crisis was blamed on influenza complicated by Parkinson's disease.