KRAKOW, Poland - An ailing Pope John Paul II, praying to Mary, asked for the strength to continue his papal mission Monday at a mountain shrine he often visited as a boy and young man.
"Most holy mother, our lady of Calvary, obtain also for me strength in body and spirit that I may carry out to the end the mission given to me by the risen Lord," the pope said, seated at the altar beneath a gilded painting of Mary and the Christ child.
The 82-year-old pope has been beset by symptoms of Parkinson's disease as well as hip and knee ailments that leave him stooped and sometimes slur his speech.
Despite his frailties, the pontiff has brushed aside any notion he might step down during the nostalgic four-day journey to his native Poland, which ends Monday.
The rousing welcome by his fellow countrymen has visibly raised John Paul's spirits, but his weakened physical condition has been evident.
He omitted a section of his prepared homily at a Mass celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska shrine, and at times his speech faltered.
Typifying the excitement surrounding the pope's ninth visit home, bells tolled as the popemobile approached the Kalwaria monastery, draped in Polish and Vatican flags. A waiting crowd of some 60,000 people chanted "Your people welcome you, John Paul II."
Tens of thousands more waving countrymen gathered along the 45-kilometer (30-mile) winding route to the sanctuary to catch a glimpse of the pope on what many fear may be his last visit.
The pope has alluded to desire to return to Poland, without committing.
"In my personal opinion, the pope will return to Poland," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.
"He's in a place that is very dear to him. He has personal links to this place, and his prayer here is very personal and very intense."
Kalwaria is the last official stop on the pope's trip down memory lane, which has taken the holy father to a sanctuary where he prayed under Nazi occupation, the cathedral where he said his first Mass as a priest and his parents' graves.
"I would like the pope to stay longer with us," said Jozef Szczotka, a 63-year-old pensioner, outside the Kalwaria monastery. "There are so many places waiting for him that he would like to see."
The Kalwaria sanctuary, with 42 chapels that depict Biblical scenes surrounding Christ's death, is one of the places where the pope often prayed and walked in contemplation as a boy growing up in nearby Wadowice.
On one occasion, after the death of his mother, the elder Karol Wojtyla pointed to the famous painting of the Virgin Mary and told his son: "This is your mother now," according to monks at the sanctuary.
During Mass on Monday, the pope recalled returning to the shrine as a young man and later as Krakow bishop seeking guidance to help resolve problems of the archdiocese.
"Today I come to this shrine as a pilgrim," he said.
On his first visit to Poland after becoming pope in 1979, he called the sanctuary "a reservoir of faith, hope and love," and asked the Franciscan monks who live there to say daily prayers for him.
"I ask you again to continue praying for me, I say again, when I am alive and after I die," he said in impromptu remarks at the end of the Mass, repeating a thought he expressed earlier in the trip.
From Kalwaria, the pope flew over his hometown, Wadowice, greeted by a sea of 12,000 people waving yellow Vatican flags and singing as the papal helicopter circled the main square three times on the way to Krakow's Balice airport for departure.
John Paul's trip, focusing on places associated with the papal biography, emphasized Poland's extraordinary bond with its favorite son.
"Stay with us," a crowd of mostly young people chanted on Sunday, the third and final night of their vigil outside the archbishop's residence.
"In my heart and my mind forever," John Paul replied. Then switching to the dialect of his beloved Krakow, he said: "The farewell wish to the one who departs is, 'Speedy return.' I hope that this is your wish for me."
The pope showed an easy rapport with young people, urging them back each night until Sunday, when he said good-bye.
On the last night, he mimicked them, singing "Welcome, Alleluia," and later a few choruses of "Farewell, Alleluia"
"Unfortunately, it's the farewell meeting," the pope said.
Standing in the crowd, 19-year-old Bozena Chojnowska said: "I don't want this to be farewell. He will come for sure, because he's as young as we are."
Earlier, the pope had tears in his eyes when the crowd at the outdoor papal Mass attended by an unprecedented 2 million Polish faithful asked him to stay with them. Many in the crowd were teary-eyed, too.
Taking leave of the enthusiastic crowd, the pope chose his words carefully: "Until next time, but this is entirely in God's hands."
Poland is the last papal trip scheduled this year. He is considering traveling to Manila in January for a Catholic family event.
Navarro-Valls said Monday that while no decision has been made yet, trip could be quickly arranged.