JERUSALEM  - Shortly before ending his pilgrimage to Israel, Pope John Paul II sank to his knees Sunday at the traditional site of Christ's resurrection, journeyed to Judaism's most sacred shrine and stood on the hilltop revered by Muslims as the spot where the Prophet Mohammed ascended into heaven.

Treading on sacred ground in the ancient confines of Jerusalem's walled Old City, the stooped, white-robed pontiff appealed for peace and reconciliation. But he was reminded again and again of competing claims to sovereignty over the city, whose eastern sector is controlled by Israel but claimed by Palestinians as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

At the Western Wall, regarded as the Jews' holiest place, the 79-year-old pontiff shuffled slowly forward and held a trembling hand to the massive stones, then moved his lips in murmured prayer. Echoing the tradition of Jews who customarily tuck notes between the yellowed blocks, he placed in a niche a copy of an address he made earlier this month in Rome expressing profound sorrow over Christians' past persecution of Jews.

"God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your name to the nations," read the document, which was later taken to Israel's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, for display. "We are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer."

The visit to the sun-splashed plaza on the last day of the pope's weeklong pilgrimage came immediately after a stop at the hilltop just above - the Al Aqsa Mosque complex, the third-holiest Islamic shrine.

There, the pontiff was greeted by the mufti, or top Islamic cleric, of Jerusalem. He also met other Palestinian clerics and dignitaries, including the top PLO official in the disputed city. An aide steadied him as he moved through the small crowd.

In welcoming remarks, the mufti brought up the explosive topic of the status of Jerusalem. The eastern sector that Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war includes the Old City and its holy shrines.

"The holy city of Jerusalem has been eternally bonded to Islam," the mufti, Ikrema Sabri, told the pontiff. "We request that you stand by justice in order to end the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem."

In reply, the pope steered a cautious path, calling the city "part of the common patrimony of our religions and of the whole of humanity."

"Jerusalem has always been revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims," he said. "Jerusalem is the Holy City par excellence."

Palestinians seized a final chance of the papal visit to drive home the message of their hopes for statehood.

"Long live Palestine!" about 1,000 uniformed schoolchildren chanted in a march staged nearby as the pope arrived. Palestinians released hundreds of balloons in the green, red and black Palestinian colors, and floated aloft a huge Palestinian flag held up by other balloons. Some drifted over the plaza just below, which fronts the Western Wall.

The hilltop - home to the Dome of the Rock mosque, whose huge gold dome is one of Jerusalem's most recognizable landmarks - is known to Jews as the Temple Mount for the biblical temples that once stood there.

At the Western Wall, Rabbi Michael Melchior, an Israeli Cabinet minister, told the pope that "God's presence has never budged" from the wall.

"We commit ourselves to end the manipulations of the sanctity of Jerusalem for political gain," he said. However, he did not repeat assertions made by other Israeli officials in the past week in the presence of the pope - that Jerusalem is Israel's eternal capital.

Inside the cavernous, tallow-scented Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in the area where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, John Paul sank to his knees in front of the stone where tradition says Christ's dead body was anointed by mourners. He again knelt in prayer inside the enclosure over the traditional site of Jesus' tomb, touching his lips to the stone.

Clad in a purple robe, the pope recited the final Mass of his visit. He was surrounded by clerics from the several Christian sects that share a sometimes acrimonious custody of the church, one of Christianity's most revered shrines.

Later, after a meeting with Christian leaders, the pope made an impromptu foray back to the Holy Sepulcher for a second, more private stop. Tourists gasped in surprise and delight as his car passed by, under escort by Israeli security men with assault rifles and trailed by a special ambulance small enough to fit into the narrow streets.

Pilgrims were thrilled to get a glimpse of the pontiff. "It was the most awesome experience we ever had," said tourist Tim Hirten of New York City, who was inside the church for the pope's initial visit.

At all of John Paul's stops, some protesters were angered by his presence, though none was allowed anywhere near him. At Al Aqsa, about 15 people shouted "Allahu Akbar!" - Arabic for God is great. Some engaged in pushing and shoving with Palestinian security, yelling that it was shameful to have allowed the pope into the compound.