Pontiff Keeps Commitments Despite Injury

WARSAW — Pope John Paul II fell in the bathroom of his guest quarters here Saturday, cutting his head and requiring three stitches, but he soldiered on with a punishing schedule of appearances across southern Poland.

The accident at the residence of the papal nuncio in the Polish capital occurred after the most demanding day of the pontiff’s 13-day visit to his homeland and was the third tumble in less than six years by John Paul, who is believed to suffer from Parkinson’s disease.

Despite this latest injury, which Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls described as a “bruising,” the pope arrived on time for an open-air Mass after flying by helicopter to the southern city of Sandomierz. He later officiated in a liturgy and spoke to hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in the southeastern trade center of Zamosc.

“There has been no change in the general state of the holy father’s health,” Navarro told journalists. “His blood pressure and his heartbeat remain normal. He has suffered no neurological damage.”

The 79-year-old pope sported a bandage on his temple, just below his skullcap, and needed assistance to mount the stairs to his chair near the altar for the Sandomierz Mass, which drew 350,000 faithful.

But as he has throughout this seventh and longest trip he has made to his homeland, he spoke in a clear, steady voice and was more engaged with his audiences than he has appeared to be for more than a year marked by increasing frailty.

Navarro said he did not know what caused the pope to slip while preparing for the eighth day of his visit. But on Friday, John Paul persevered through a packed schedule that included morning Mass, meetings with the Polish president and government leaders, five speeches and visits to two memorial sites.

The pope has walked slowly and needed a cane since undergoing hip replacement surgery five years ago after a fall at his Vatican City residence. He had broken his shoulder only six months earlier when he fell during a private audience with U.N. officials in November 1993.

Navarro said there would be “no variations at all” in the pope’s schedule, which includes today’s open-air Mass in central Warsaw, expected to draw the biggest crowd of his pilgrimage. In view of his condition, many Poles fear this visit home will be his last.

The pope is set to travel to his native Krakow region Monday for a final four days of Masses and appearances and a visit to the grave of his parents before departing for the Vatican on Thursday.