Arcadia doctor recalls consultation with Pope John Paul II

Dr. Vincent M. Fortanasce stands next to a painting of Pope John Paul II in his Arcadia office. Fortanasce treated the pope in Vatican City in 2000.

He doesn’t normally do house calls.

But when Dr. Vincent Fortanasce was summoned by the Vatican to tend to the pope, he was quick to agree.

Fortanasce is a neurological rehabilitation specialist and an author with a long history in Arcadia, where he practices.

It is the memory of half an hour in August 2000 that looms largest in the 68-year-old physician’s life, however.

Fortanasce was in Rome that month, volunteering for three weeks of first aid duty with the Order of Malta, a laymen’s group that offers international emergency medical service. The group was assisting during the Catholic Church’s yearlong “Great Jubilee” celebration.

One day Fortanasce attended a Mass conducted by Pope John Paul II. He was stunned when he saw the frail pontiff slowly walk in.

“He was carrying a cane and he almost tripped over it,” said Fortanasce. “I was standing next to one of the pope’s secretaries, Msgr. Vittorio Formenti, and I asked him who was treating the pope.”

Formenti told him that others were also concerned about the pontiff’s condition and asked if Fortanasce would be willing to examine him.

Two days later eight Swiss Guards showed up at the aid station and escorted him to the 80-year-old pope. He was sitting by a window, reading his prayer book, when the physician walked in.

He recalled with emotion what followed:

“I remember the breviary was in Polish, not Latin, and it looked like it was 50 years old,” Fortanasce said. “When he turned toward me, he turned his body, not his head …. I put out my hand — usually you kiss the ring — but he took my hand in his and shook my hand.” [more]
SOURCE
Los Angeles Times