For the Holy Father it was important to spend Christmas among family. Thus, for Christmas Eve there were more people: the Holy Father, secretaries, sisters who worked in the kitchen. He also always invited Cardinal Deskura, together with his sisters, Professor Tadeusz Styczeń, someone from the Diocese of Kraków, Bishop Stanisław Ryłko or another priest who worked in Rome. Sometimes, it was Bishop Józef Kowalczyk or later Archbishop Henryk Nowacki. One family from Krakow also came from the so-called “Krakow’s friends” of Karol Wojtyła – close friends, from “kayaks” times. They came without children. And, then during the second or third day of Christmas celebrations sometimes other marriages; two or three came. Christmas Eve was starting around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. It began in a traditional, Polish way, from reading Scripture. The Holy Father was making short wishes to us. Then, there was a Christmas carol and the special supper.
-Let’s start from the beginning. On the sky appears the first star …
-Usually around 6 p.m. the Holy Father walked up to the window and lit a candle – as in 1981. He did that every year until his death. It was a symbol of his unity with Poles – already in times of freedom – all those who simply needed his prayer, his support.
-Did he miss Polish Christmas? Polish Christmas Eve?
-For sure, he missed it. However, we were doing everything we could to have it in the Vatican. Hence the Polish guests, the closest to the Holy Father. In his room – bedroom or office – he always had a living Christmas tree brought specifically for him from Zakopane. Nuns were decorating that Christmas tree. The Holy Father would probably be happy to decorate it himself, but he never had time. He liked to look at it. Well, it smelled beautiful. There were also Christmas trees in the refectory and in the hallway.
-And, supposedly the nativity scene was also there.
-It had to be. The Holy Father loved nativity scenes. Every year, especially for him Vatican workers prepared the nativity scene. The nativity scene was standing in the hallway. It was very pretty and original. They always came out with something that the Holy Father really liked.
With the consent of Archbishop Mokrzycki “He liked Tuesdays the most”
M Publisher, Kraków 2008
