Pope John Paul II thanked well-wishers Sunday for their prayers and messages as he celebrated the 26th anniversary of his election as pontiff.
John Paul marked the anniversary of his Oct. 16, 1978, election with morning Mass on Saturday in his private chapel. A day earlier, officials celebrated the occasion publicly with a performance by a Russian military chorus and orchestra.
"I want to express my strong gratitude to those who sent their congratulations and remembered me in their prayers on the anniversary of my election," the pope said, speaking clearly but with several pauses during his weekly address to a crowd in St. Peter's Square.
Thousands of well-wishers showered the pontiff with greetings, many of them thanking him for speaking out against preventive war, the Vatican said. In the run-up to the U.S.-led Iraq (news - web sites) war, John Paul insisted repeatedly that dialogue was required to bring peace.
Slowed by Parkinson's disease and hip and knee problems, the 84-year-old pope has said on several occasions that he intends to continue working as pope as long as God lets him.
Later Sunday, the pope presided over a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica to mark the opening of the Church's Year of the Eucharist. Catholics believe that Christ is present in flesh and blood in the sacrament.
Though he spent most of Mass in his wheeled throne, John Paul knelt three times during the two-hour service. He also read a message in Spanish to Roman Catholics attending the 48th International Eucharistic Congress in the Mexican city of Guadalajara.
Some of the pope's remarks were read by a bishop.
"The world needs light, in the difficult search for a peace that seems far off, at the beginning of a millennium disrupted and humiliated by violence, terrorism and war," the message said.