LOURDES, France, Aug 14 (AFP) - Pope John Paul II, burdened by Parkinson's disease, tiredness and emotion, stumbled as he knelt in prayer Saturday on his pilgrimage to Lourdes, but Vatican officials downplayed the incident.
Aides, who had eased John Paul II off his wheelchair and had moved back to allow him a few moments of silent prayer, quickly restored the pope's balance before lifting him back into his seat.
Television pictures clearly showed tears in his eye as he was supported by his personal secretary, Stanislaw Dziwisz.
"You mustn't forget that the effects of the pope's treatment regime don't last longer than three or at most four hours, and he had only left his summer residence to go to Rome airport four hours before," Vatican officials said.
The pope's schedule is carefully planned with his health in mind. With 104 foreign trips now to his name, there has been plenty of time to fine-tune the details.
The 84-year-old pontiff arrived in the French Pyrenees shrine, one of the most visited sites in Christianity, earlier Saturday on a two-day pilgrimage.
The shrine to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, is reputed to help cure disease and draws millions of visitors a year.
After the morning's travails at the Grotto of Apparitions, where in 1858 a young peasant girl claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary, the pope retired for his scheduled three-hour afternoon rest.
His personal doctor Renato Buzzonetti and other officials regularly monitor his condition. Their equipment includes a defibrillator, an oxygen bottle and blood supplies.
In moments of need, as at the grotto, a Polish nun, Sister Tobiana, is on hand to offer him a glass of tea or other pick-me-up.
His stumbling speech and shortness of breath, the effects of Parkinson's, often oblige him to have a Vatican prelate or other official read out the bulk of his messages, although the pope always likes to say at least a few words.
That is what happened at the grotto, where French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray read a personal message that told of his own suffering.
"Dear brothers and sisters who are sick, how I would like to embrace each and every one of you with affection, to tell you how close I am to you and how much I support you," he said.