PAPAL BIRTHDAY

Wednesday, May 17, 1995
  • Share
  • Read Later
On the eve of his 75th birthday,Pope John Paul IIsaid surgery and recent health problems will not drive him to step down from St. Peter's Throne, even though Church law allows him to resign if he feels incapacitated. "I renew before Christ the offer of my availability to serve the Church for as long as He wants," the pontiff told 18,000 people in St. Peter's Square, who sang "Happy Birthday." Fellow Poles in the crowd regaled him with an even more upbeat song: "Stolat," or "100 Years".