Pope John Paul II celebrates his 84th birthday Tuesday, with the Vatican submerged by well-wishers for this popular and earthy pontiff who has defied old age and poor health with plans for fresh trips abroad in his 25-year-old ministry to reach ordinary people.
The Vatican's postal system, telephone switchboard and Internet site were inundated, and officials at the website, www.vatican.va, said they expected a new record, beating the hundreds of thousands of greetings sent in last year as the pope's health declined.
The site has added a special icon with the pope's picture and the message "wishes to the Holy Father", which links directly to the pontiff's e-mail: john_paul_ii@vatican.va.
The Holy See's post office doubled its staff to deal with the flood of letters and the Vatican - thanks to the pope's secretarial team of Polish nuns - has promised a reply to all.
Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi was among the first to send birthday greetings in a statement Monday night that hailed the pope's farsightedness in opposing the war in Iraq.
John Paul is due to meet US President George W. Bush here on June 4, and is expected to tell him that US policy in the Middle East is misguided, according to a Vatican source.
Tuesday morning, a huge Portuguese governmental and religious delegation headed by the country's Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso and Cardinal Jose Policarpo of Lisbon sang "Happy Birthday" to the pope at a meeting in the Vatican's majestic Clementine Hall.
Although no particular birthday celebration is planned, Tuesday will see the publication of a 200-page book of recollections and reflections by the pontiff entitled, "Get Up and Let Us Go". It covers 20 years from when Karol Wojtyla became a bishop in 1958 to his election as the first Polish pope in 1978, according to Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls.