Visibly emotional, Pope John Paul on Friday marked 50 years as a priest by thanking God for letting him serve the Roman Catholic Church for half a century and announcing that he had written memoirs.
The 76-year-old pope, who is still recovering from an operation to remove his appendix earlier this month, appeared at times to be tired during the 2 1/2-hour Mass in St. Peter's Basilica."It is to him (God) that today we render homage and thanks. I want to do it together with the entire Christian community of Rome as I recall my priestly jubilee," the pontiff said, his voice at times trembling with emotion.
"I thank God for my priesthood . . . together with all those spiritually united with me," he said, sitting on a white throne before the main altar above the spot believed to be the burial place of the apostle St. Peter.
"I thank God because he has allowed me to celebrate the holy Mass every day in these 50 years," the pope said during the service.
After the Mass, the pontiff told thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square that he had written "memoirs and reflections."
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the volume, called "Gift and Mystery" and written in Polish, was partly autobiographical and partly a reflection on the priesthood.
It was due to be released by the Vatican this month.
The pope's 1995 book, "Crossing the Threshold of Hope," was an international best seller. It was published by commercial publishing houses around the world and the royalties went to charity.
The pope, elected in 1978 as the first non-Italian pontiff in 450 years, recalled Nov. 1, 1946 - the day that he prostrated himself on the floor of a chapel in Krakow in his native Poland and was ordained a priest by the local bishop.