Pope John Paul dies

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II has died, the Vatican has announced.

The 84-year-old Pontiff, who had headed the Roman Catholic Church for 26 years, died at 9.37pm (7.37am NZT), a statement said.

"The Holy Father died this evening at 21.37 in his private apartment," the statement said.

The news was immediately announced to huge crowds gathered in St Peter's Square.

John Paul will be remembered for his role in the collapse of communism in Europe and his unyielding defence of traditional Vatican doctrines as leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.

Huge crowds had staged a tearful vigil in St. Peter's Square, praying for a man already being dubbed by some Catholics as "John Paul the Great".

The Pope's health had deteriorated steadily over the past decade and earlier this year took a sharp turn for the worse.

The Pontiff, once a lithe athlete and powerful speaker, was already racked by arthritis and Parkinson's Disease, his voice often reduced to a raspy whisper.

He was rushed to hospital twice in February and had to have a tracheotomy to ease serious breathing problems. But he never regained his strength from the operation and failed dramatically on two occasions to address crowds at St. Peter's Square.

On Wednesday doctors inserted a feeding tube into his stomach to try boost his energy levels. A day later he developed a urinary infection and high fever that soon precipitated heart failure, kidney problems and ultimately death.

According to pre-written Church rules, the Pontiff's mourning rites will last 9 days and his body is likely to be laid to rest in the crypt underneath St Peter's Basilica.

The conclave to elect a new Pope will start in 15 to 20 days, with almost 120 cardinals from around the world gathering in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to choose a successor.

There is no favourite candidate to take over. Karol Wojtyla was himself regarded as an outsider when he was elevated to the papacy on October 16, 1978.

- REUTERS