A picture of Pope John Paul was placed in St. Mary Cathedral on Thursday.

VATICAN CITY -- Despite the late hour, the faithful are still gathered in St. Peter's Square, but numbers are diminishing

They're standing in silent vigil under Pope John Paul's apartment -- keeping their eyes fixed on the windows.

John Paul is said to be on the verge of death. A cardinal who
heads the Vatican's health care office tells the Mexican TV network Televisa that doctors report there's no more hope. The
pope's health has declined sharply since he developed a urinary
tract infection Friday.

Citizens around world attend vigils for pope

MEXICO CITY -- Millions of faithful around the world have been bowing their heads in prayer for Pope John Paul.

Mexicans shuffled across cobblestones on their knees inside a church where the pope canonized the first Indian saint in 2002.

A tearful man in Mexico City says "there will be another pope,
but it won't be the same.'' He attributes his recovery from a childhood infection to a bedside visit from the pontiff in 1979.

Three monks were intent in prayer in a tiny cloister on an island off Norway. And a marching band played solemn music at a special Mass in Peru.

WADOWICE, Poland -- Poland is already giving a mournful goodbye to its favorite son.

Hundreds of people packed a church in Pope John Paul's hometown, weeping and praying. The priest told parishioners that they're bidding "farewell'' to the Holy Father.

Many of the worshippers were red-eyed and distraught. They knelt in pews and on the stone floors at the same church where the pope worshipped as a child.

The emotional outpouring isn't limited to the pope's boyhood home. People across Poland left school and work early to pray for him. In one town, a soccer game was abandoned before halftime after news of the pope's rapid decline reached the stadium. The crowd chanted "Stop the match.''

Previous remarks hint at how pope faces last stages of own life

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul has spoken about "the frailty of the last hour'' -- and now he may be experiencing it.

On a trip to Vienna in 1998, he said human life is "never meaningless or useless'' even in those final hours. He has called
these his "twilight years.''

The pontiff objects to euthanasia and supports treatment to prolong life. But after suffering septic shock and heart failure
Friday, he chose not to be hospitalized.

Back in 1985, he told a scientific advisory board that when
death is imminent, it's OK to stop treatment that prolongs life in
a "precarious and burdensome'' way. Last year, he said people in a "vegetative state'' must get basic care to sustain life -- saying
"prisoners of their condition'' still have human dignity.

He has said "special consideration'' must be given to medicine
that makes patients unconscious -- saying people need to maintain "moral duties'' "in full consciousness.''

The Vatican said the pope's breathing has become shallow and his kidneys are no longer working properly.

The latest statement on the pope's health came six hours after a tearful papal spokesman told the world that John Paul was in “very grave” condition.

Still, the pope was said to be very lucid earlier in the day, and “extraordinarily serene.” He visited with top Vatican officials and appointed a large number of bishops and other church officials.

John Paul asked aides to read him the liturgy of the Third Hour: the biblical passage describing the path that Christ took to his Crucifixion. In the final state of the Way of the Cross, Christ's body was taken down from the cross, wrapped in a linen shroud and placed in his tomb.

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	Prayers for the pope On Thursday, the faithful gathered to pray for the pope.

A Catholic leader in the U.S. says the Third Hour is especially significant for someone who is dying because tradition says Christ died at 3 p.m.

“He already sees and already touches Christ,” a leading church official said.

Hundreds of people attended a special Mass celebrated by the pope's vicar for Rome. Cardinal Camillo Ruini told them John Paul's faith is so strong and so intensively lived that he already is in Christ's hands.

There's a set of bronze doors beneath a portico off St. Peter's Square that are usually closed when a pope dies. An Italian television network is reporting one of the doors was closed today, as about 30 police officers stood guard. It's not clear just what that might mean.

When the pope becomes incapacitated or he dies, the Vatican is able to conduct business without missing a step.

Several key officials ensure there is continuity at the Vatican. Those include Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who would be described as a prime minister in a parliamentary democracy. He has taken on an increasingly visible role since John Paul was hospitalized with the flu and breathing problems in February.

The Vatican's centuries-old bureaucracy handles the Vatican's day-to-day operations.

But the pope remains the ultimate authority on important decisions, such as the appointment of bishops or questions of church policy. The Holy See announced Friday that John Paul had appointed a large number of bishops and other church officials.