Rome ? Pope John Paul II’s own suffering kept him away from his flock for the first time on Good Friday, but he appeared to the faithful via video, adding poignancy as Christians reflected on the suffering of Jesus on the most solemn day of the church calendar.

The thousands who gathered at the Colosseum for the Way of the Cross procession cheered and waved torches as the 84-year-old pontiff appeared on video screens. He was seen sitting alone in his chapel at the Vatican with his back to the camera, watching the ceremony on a television screen under the chapel’s altar.

He didn’t speak, and his face was never seen.

John Paul sent a message to the crowd that was read by his vicar for Rome, Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini. In it, John Paul said he was spiritually among those at the Colosseum recalling Christ’s last hours.

“I also offer my suffering, so that God’s design is completed and his word walks among the people,” he said in the message. “I am near all those who in these moments are tested by suffering. I pray for each of them.”

Vatican TV had installed giant television screens at the Colosseum to allow the pope to appear via video linkup from the Vatican, but officials waited until the last minute to decide on the pope’s appearance, depending on his health.

Images of John Paul at his Vatican chapel were broadcast several times during the ceremony. Toward the end of the procession, John Paul was seen in the chapel, clutching a crucifix.

Thousands of people gathered for the haunting procession, and on the plateau overlooking the Colosseum where the pope used to sit there was a torch-lit cross.

“We will miss him but we know he’s here, even if not physically,” said Cecilia Paolombo, a 20-year-old Italian Girl Scout who was giving out torches to the faithful.

John Paul has been absent for the major events of Holy Week, although he has appeared silently at his studio window twice this week and has delivered messages telling the faithful that he is spiritually near them as he recovers.

The pope hasn’t spoken in public since shortly before he was released from the hospital March 13, and his only commitment during Holy Week is to deliver a blessing on Easter Sunday.

Pope John Paul II watches video of the Way of the Cross torch-lit procession in front of Rome's Colosseum from his chapel in his private apartment at the Vatican. For the first time in his 26-year pontificate, John Paul did not attend the Good Friday procession.