Roman Catholics around the world are praying for the recovery of their spiritual leader. Pope John Paul is still in hospital, but according to the Vatican his condition is improving.
The Pope's condition is stable after a restful night of sleep, his physicians confirmed, and the Holy See insisted there was "no cause for alarm."
But pneumonia remained a potentially deadly threat, and the frail, 84-year-old pontiff is expected to stay in hospital for at least a few more days.
Hospital officials also confirmed that medical tests have shown the Pope's heart and breathing indicators to be normal, Vatican affairs journalist Gerry O'Connell told CTV News.
Officials said the Pope was well enough to participate in mass from his bed Wednesday morning.
The 84-year-old pontiff was rushed to Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic hospital late Tuesday. He was reportedly suffering from breathing difficulties after his case of influenza took a turn for the worse.
One Vatican official had characterized the hospitalization decision as "mainly precautionary."
Doctors treated the leader of the world's one billion Roman Catholics in a suite permanently set aside for him.
CTV's Tom Kennedy said the mood in Rome was cautiously optimistic, "because people do know that at some point this pope is going to go, and that time is probably sooner rather than later."
But at the archdiocese in Toronto, Susanne Scorsone noted: "I've seen people on the death watch since his assassination attempt way back in the early 1980s, and he's still here.
"And he may very well be for a very long time yet. We're very hopeful."
The background
The Pope first became ill on Sunday when he contracted influenza.
By Tuesday evening, he developed what O'Connell describes as a "breathing crisis."
Quite suddenly, he was taken to Gemelli, the hospital where he was treated after a 1981 assassination attempt.
The Vatican said the following: "The flu which the Holy Father was suffering for three days this evening became complicated by an acute laryngeal tracheitis and larynx spasm crisis.
"For this reason, urgent admission to Gemelli Polyclinic, which occurred at 10:50 p.m. today (4:50 p.m. ET) was decided."
"When he came in he was subjected to various tests and X-rays, they thought they would have had to use tubes to facilitate his breathing, this did not happen," said O'Connell.
Tracheitis is an inflammation of the trachea. It requires hospital treatment, usually by way of a breathing tube to keep the airway clear.
A complicating factor for the Pope is that he suffers from Parkinson's disease, a chronic, progressive brain ailment.
"When we look at the scenario, this is the group that we worry the most about, anyone over the age of 65 who's got a chronic illness," Dr. Marla Shapiro said.
"He's got Parkinson's, he's generally in frail condition so flu in his age group compared to flu in a younger age group without any type of chronic condition is very worrisome."
Dr. Shapiro added that the Pope's condition can ultimately lead to pneumonia.
With files from Associated Press
