Pope to bless the faithful
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 Authorities overpowered man perched on St. Peter's Basilica.
 The Pope watched Good Friday's Way of the Cross on TV.
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VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- Pope John Paul II, recovering from last month's throat surgery, is expected to bless the faithful from his window on Easter Sunday.
The ailing 84-year-old pontiff is set to give the Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) blessing at noon (1000 GMT), from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square.
It is not clear whether he would speak or just silently bless the crowd as he did on Palm Sunday.
On Saturday, German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger took the pope's place leading this year's Easter Vigil mass at St. Peter's Basilica, which the pontiff observed from his Vatican apartment.
The cardinal read a message from the pontiff, telling Roman Catholics he was watching the service on television.
This Holy Week was the first time in John Paul's 26-year papacy that he missed any of the traditional services leading up to Easter Sunday.
The pontiff skipped Holy Thursday Mass and missed attending the ceremony Friday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus.
Easter Sunday is the most joyous day in the Christian calendar as it commemorates the day Christians believe Christ rose from the dead.
A cardinal who stood in for the pope in a Holy Week ceremony at the Vatican earlier said the ailing pontiff was "serenely abandoning" himself to God's will.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said the pontiff linked his own suffering to that of Jesus Christ. (Full story)
The pope did appear briefly from his Vatican window on Wednesday.
The pontiff's failing health represents uncharted territory for the Vatican, according to CNN Vatican analyst John Allen.
"They're kind of groping their way forward to understand how they can make the pope as available as possible to his followers while at the same time protecting his health," Allen said.
'In God's hands'
The Vatican has not issued a single medical bulletin on the pope's health since he was released from a hospital this month. A senior cardinal said the pope remains "lucid" despite his frail condition.
Throughout his various illnesses and brushes with death, even following the assassination attempt against him in 1981, the pope always said his life was in God's hands.
John Paul underwent a tracheotomy to relieve severe breathing problems on February 24. He has spent a total of 28 days in two stints at Rome's Gemelli hospital these past two months.
Since he left hospital on March 13, the pope, who also suffers from Parkinson's disease and severe arthritis, has made four very brief appearances in public.
The pope still has a tube, known as a cannula, in his throat to help him breathe, and medical experts have said he will probably have to keep it there for the rest of his life.
Reporter Kareen Wynter contributed to this report
