Pope John Paul II's extended hospital stay has produced a wistful first for his 26-year papacy -- missing out on public Ash Wednesday prayers that usher in the solemn and sacred Lenten season.
American Cardinal James Stafford will preside over Wednesday's service at St. Peter's Basilica instead of John Paul -- an unavoidable but no doubt reluctant substitution for a pope deeply stirred by the traditional period of penitence, sacrifice and reflection that culminates with Easter.
The Vatican did not say whether the 84-year-old pope planned anything special in his room at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic hospital to mark Ash Wednesday, a holiday he hasn't missed with public prayers since becoming pope in 1978.
Officials say the pontiff has been holding Mass regularly for doctors and nurses treating him since he was rushed to the clinic on Feb. 1 with breathing spasms and the flu.
On Tuesday, the prefect of a Vatican tribunal said the pope would still be able to run the church even if he reached the point where he couldn't speak.
"It is sufficient that one's will be expressed, and be expressed in a clear way," the official, Cardinal Mario Francesco Pompedda, told the newspaper La Stampa. "It can be expressed very well through writing, and in any case can be expressed also with clear and significant gestures."
Although the Vatican says the pope's health is improving, his doctors persuaded him to prolong his stay. He is now expected to remain hospitalized at least until Thursday.
Ash Wednesday begins a few weeks of spiritual reflection for the pope ahead of the taxing Holy Week services, which culminate with Easter on March 27.
The pope's long struggle with Parkinson's disease and crippling hip and knee ailments have many Roman Catholics questioning how long he can continue to serve. The Vatican's No. 2 official, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, caused a stir this week by publicly suggesting for the first time that the Vatican may be discussing the issue.
Popes may resign but cannot be forced to do so, and John Paul repeatedly has said he has no intention of stepping down. The last time a pope willingly resigned was in the 13th century.
Outside the hospital Tuesday, Polish musicians dressed in traditional costumes played stringed instruments and sang mountaineering songs from a resort where the Polish-born pope once skied. They carried a Polish flag and a statue of a Madonna on a pedestal surrounded by white and pink flowers.
The Rev. Miroslav Droszdek, a Polish priest, said he visited John Paul briefly but the pope did not speak.
"Outside of the spoken word there is the language of the heart and the language of faith," Droszdek said. "It is enough ... in this way we understand each other."