Pope is given the last rites as health worsens

• Catholics prepare for the worst as Holy Father suffers relapse in Vatican

• Pontiff was struck down by raging fever brought on by a urinary infection

• Said to be 'very very sick' - too fragile to be taken to hospital

Key quote

"The end could be very near as his condition has worsened very suddenly and very quickly." - Vatican source

Story in full POPE John Paul II was reportedly given the last rites after his condition dramatically worsened last night, as he was hit by a high fever and breathing problems.

Sources said the Pontiff had been given the Roman Catholic sacrament reserved for the sick and dying because his health was deteriorating so rapidly.

Earlier, Italian news agencies said doctors had described the Pope as being "very, very sick".

In another development, all the shutters over the windows of the papal apartments were shut. Normally these are left open at all times and just the lights switched off when the Pope goes to bed.

The ailing 84-year-old Pontiff was already recovering from a tracheotomy after being rushed twice to hospital.

A Vatican spokesman last night said he could not confirm the reports that the last rites had been given, but Church sources said it was likely the Pontiff had received the sacrament, given the precarious state of his health.

The sacrament, which involves anointing the sick person with special oils, was once called "extreme unction". It was renamed the Sacrament of the Infirm to reflect the fact that it is administered not only to the dying but to the sick as well.

The last time the Pope was known to have received the sacrament was on 13 May, 1981, the day he was shot and nearly killed in an assassination attempt in St Peter’s Square.

Rumours that the Pope had taken a turn for the worse at his private apartments began circulating in the Vatican just after 8pm local time last night.

But it was not until 10pm that the official Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro Valls, issued a statement confirming the dramatic relapse in his health.

The statement said: "During the day the Holy Father began to suffer from a high fever due to a urinary infection. A course of antibiotics has been started and he is being cared for by the Vatican medical team."

Italian TV news flashes last night also reported that the Pope’s blood pressure had dropped, but there was no official confirmation of this.

An emergency room chief at the Gemelli Polyclinic said there were no plans to admit John Paul "at the moment," according to Italian news agencies.

The Pope’s worsening condition came after two painful and anguished appearances at the window of his private apartments in the Vatican on Easter Sunday and again on Wednesday where he failed to speak.

The developments also came after the Austrian cardinal Christoph Schnborn, archbishop of Vienna, said: "The Pope is nearing the end.’’

Earlier this week, the Vatican revealed that the Pope was being fed via a nasal tube, was having trouble swallowing and was vomiting. Such symptoms are common in people who suffer from Parkinson’s disease, as the Pope does.

Last night a sign that things were not well at the Vatican was the blaze of lights in the Pope’s private apartments.

Vatican officials are increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for the Pope’s full recovery, with many agreeing that he has entered a new and perhaps final phase of his long papacy. The Vatican sources spoke about the mood inside the tiny city-state where the Pope is supreme sovereign.

"We are on standby for anything," one priest who works in an important Vatican department said. "Hardly anyone thinks the situation will improve, but everyone is hoping for a miracle."

Another Church source said: "It is not looking good at all. Things were already bad - now they have got worse. The Holy Father is having serious trouble breathing and has also picked up an infection and a fever.

"It is very unlikely that he will be moved to hospital, and instead the medical team at the Vatican will treat him. The end could be very near as his condition has worsened very suddenly and very quickly.

"It is all connected to his Parkinson’s disease, but he was also overcome with emotion when he appeared at his window and that might have had some effect."

A urinary infection can produce fever and a drop in blood pressure, said Dr Marc Siegel, a specialist in internal medicine at the New York University Medical Centre.

The Pope’s risk of such an infection is heightened because he is elderly - which suggests his prostate is probably enlarged. He is also debilitated and run-down from the illness that recently sent him to the hospital, Dr Siegel added.

Urinary infections tend to respond well to antibiotics, and Dr Siegel said: "I would suspect there’s a very good chance he’s going to recover well."

Lights in the papal apartment above St Peter’s Square were on until about 11pm, well past the usual papal bedtime.

Earlier in the day, the Vatican dismissed suggestions that the Pope was wavering in his decision to carry on in the papacy as he struggles to regain his health, and a senior cardinal said that the best measures would be employed to keep him alive.