Pope John Paul had a successful operation on Thursday to help him breathe more easily following a recurrence of acute respiratory problems, the Vatican (news - web sites) said in a statement.
"The operation ... ended successfully. The immediate post-operative progress is regular," the statement said.
It said surgeons at Rome's Gemelli hospital had performed a tracheotomy on the Pontiff, cutting a small opening into his neck and windpipe to allow air to flow directly into the lungs.
The operation lasted 30 minutes, starting at 8:20 p.m. (1420 EST) and ending at 8:50 p.m. (1450 EST).
The Pope, who gave his consent for the operation, will spend the night in his hospital room, the statement added, implying he did not need to be treated in an intensive care ward.
The 84-year-old Pope was rushed to hospital earlier on Thursday for the second time this month after suffering renewed breathing problems and a relapse of the flu.
Medical experts said a tracheotomy was a simple operation but added that it would only be performed in a crisis. They warned that the Pope, who also suffers from Parkinson's disease (news - web sites), would now have even greater difficulty speaking.
"He can possibly survive this, but he would certainly have a very prolonged recovery, be very debilitated and very deconditioned," said Dr Barbara Paris, Chair of Geriatrics and Vice Chair of Medicine at Maimonides Medical Center in New York.
"With a tracheotomy you can only speak with very great difficulty, if at all," she told Reuters by telephone from the United States.
PRAYERS
Earlier in the day, senior churchmen urged the faithful to pray for the man who has led the 1.1-billion member Church for 26 years and has made personal suffering a byword of the last years of his papacy.
"I call on all the diocese of Rome to gather in prayer for our most loved bishop and the father of the faith," said Camillo Ruini, the Cardinal of Rome.
The ailing Pope had been expected to attend a ceremony on Thursday morning to approve sainthood decrees, which took place in the frescoed Clementia Hall yards from his private study in the Apostolic Palace.
Cardinals and bishops were gathered in the hall awaiting his arrival, but aides decided at the last moment that the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, would preside instead, leaving the Pope to watch the event on television.
The Pope penned several words for Sodano to read, telling the cardinals he was watching from his adjacent apartment.
His health then took yet another turn for the worse and doctors ordered his immediate transfer by ambulance to the Gemelli hospital, some 2.5 miles from the Vatican.
A security guard said the Pope was conscious and resting on a partly raised stretcher as he was wheeled into the Gemelli at 10:45 a.m. (0445 EST). A passer-by told Sky Italia television that he had waved to people as he entered the clinic.
The deterioration of the Pope's health will revive fears throughout the Catholic world that one of the most historic pontificates is nearing an end.
It was the 10th time that John Paul had to be treated at the Gemelli since becoming Pope on October 16, 1978.
"Poor man -- I think he has reached the end. He can't take it any more," said Maria Luisa, who was visiting a friend at the large hospital on the northwestern outskirts of Rome.
The Vatican had previously said the Pope was making a steady recovery and he had made a handful of appearances over the past two weeks, looking gaunt and still showing signs of the flu.
The Pope held a "virtual" general audience on Wednesday, addressing pilgrims via a television link from his study after a rainstorm in Rome forced the Vatican to cancel a planned appearance from his window overlooking St Peter's Square.
He was seen speaking in a hoarse voice but otherwise looking fairly well. He read a three-paragraph address and then greeted the pilgrims in six languages, including his native Polish.
His hospitalization earlier this month revived debate on what the Church would do if he became permanently incapacitated, and raised speculation that he might decide to retire, which is possible under Church law but extremely rare.