Pope John Paul II dead at 84

By From staff and wire reports

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II, the Polish pontiff who led the Roman Catholic Church for more than a quarter century and became history's most-traveled pope, died Saturday night in his Vatican apartment. He was 84.

The announcement came from papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls and was distributed to journalists via e-mail.

"The Holy Father died this evening at 9:37 p.m. (2:37 p.m. EST) in his private apartment. All the procedures outlined in the apostolic Constitution `Universi Dominici Gregis' that was written by John Paul II on Feb. 22, 1996, have been put in motion."

A memorial mass on campus is scheduled Monday in the Mission Church at 12:05 p.m., university President Paul Locatelli, S.J., said late Friday in an e-mail.

"Pope John Paul's decision to remain at home rather than return to the hospital is a sign of his deep love of God and faith that this life leads to a new, risen life with God. He is a sign of hope for all of us, regardless of our religions and beliefs," he said.

The pope died after suffering heart and kidney failure following two hospitalizations in as many months. Just hours earlier, the Vatican said he was in "very serious" condition but had responded to members of the papal household.

"It's truly a sad day for anyone in the faith," said senior Dominick Guidera, a Catholic. "The pope led with compassion and will be missed by his followers. But I'm comforted to know he's at peace and with God."

Since his surprise election in 1978, John Paul traveled the world, inspiring a revolt against communism in his native Poland and across the Soviet bloc, but also preaching against consumerism, contraception and abortion.

John Paul was a robust 58 when the cardinals stunned the world and elected the cardinal from Krakow, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.

In his later years, however, John Paul was the picture of frailty, weighed down by ailments that included Parkinson's disease. Although he kept up his travels, he was no longer able to kiss the ground.