VATICAN CITY (AP) -Pope John Paul II is preparing to leave the hospital this week, possibly as soon as Monday or Tuesday, for his return to the Vatican in time for Holy Week, according to a priest from the pontiff’s hometown.

The Rev. Richard Nitschke, who spoke to the pope’s personal secretary during a visit Saturday, was the first person to publicly offer details on a possible discharge date since the frail 84-year-old pope was rushed to Gemelli Polyclinic and underwent throat surgery on Feb. 24 to ease his breathing.

The Vatican did not confirm the date. But it has said the pontiff would be back home in time for Holy Week celebrations that begin a week from now, on March 20, and culminate with Easter Sunday.

The celebrations are among the most holy in the Roman Catholic Church’s calendar.

The pope is expected to make his fourth appearance at the hospital window today, but it was not known whether his voice would be strong enough to greet the faithful. In previous showings, he remained silent, giving a blessing with his hands.

Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls indicated Saturday that the pope’s recovery was progressing without complications. “Everything is normal,” he said.

Nitschke, visiting the hospital with pilgrims from the pope’s hometown of Wadowice, Poland, said he met with John Paul’s personal secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, who assured him that “everything is going well.”

The priest said, “When I asked (Dziwisz) when the pope would be out, he said, ‘Monday or Tuesday, eventually.”‘ Nitschke did not see the pope during his visit.

The next medical update is scheduled for Monday. Navarro-Valls said Thursday the pope was extending his stay by a few more days to complete his recovery but stressed the decision was not the result of a medical problem.

John Paul has been doing breathing and speaking exercises, and he was heard speaking in public for the first time since the tracheotomy in a two-minute video released Friday by Vatican TV.

The footage, taken during a meeting with Tanzanian prelates in the pope’s hospital suite, shows John Paul saying a few words in a husky voice, including “va bene,” Italian for “OK,”and “God bless you” in English.

The video “was the first little chat by the pope to be seen publicly, but we had already said in previous days that the pope was speaking,” Navarro-Valls told reporters at the Gemelli Polyclinic hospital. “With his aides he has been speaking for days.”

On Saturday, the group of about 40 pilgrims from the pontiff’s hometown gave him presents, including an album with pictures of the town, well-wishing notes from residents and a palm branch.

“Holy Father, your native home is by your side,” said a banner held by the pilgrims, who sang and prayed beneath the pope’s window.

“Wadowice is waiting for him,” said the town’s mayor, Eva Filipiak.

The pope’s speaking difficulties are complicated by Parkinson’s disease, which causes a gradual loss of muscle control. The complications have raised concerns over the John Paul’s ability to communicate with and guide the world’s 1 billion Catholics.

In another indication that John Paul has stepped up his activities ahead of his return to the Vatican, the Holy See released the text of two messages sent by the pope over the past few days. Both messages were signed from the Gemelli, nicknamed “The Third Vatican” after the seat of the Holy See on St. Peter’s Square and the pope’s summer residence in the town of Castel Gandolfo.

Meanwhile, the Italian journalist and former hostage who was wounded by U.S. gunfire in Baghdad sent a letter to the pope thanking him for his appeals on behalf of people kidnapped in Iraq, her newspaper said Saturday.

Giuliana Sgrena – released from a month of captivity in Iraq on March 4, then shot on her way to the airport – wrote to the pontiff from the Rome hospital where she is recovering from a shrapnel wound to the shoulder, said Il Manifesto newspaper, adding that it had no specifics on the letter.

Her letter was brought to John Paul’s attention at a Rome hospital across town, where he is recovering from throat surgery. The pontiff’s Sunday message on Feb. 13 included an appeal for hostages in Iraq, including Sgrena.

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