He very much wanted to last until the Divine Mercy Sunday. He dictated the letter to Łagiewniki, and his last desire written in it: “Again, I would like to entrust to this Love: the Church and the world, all people throughout the entire earth, and myself in my weakness.” On Saturday, at 7.30 am, a holy Mass was celebrated at his bedside, the last one. By his side there were his secretaries, five nuns of the Sacred Heart and personal doctor Renato Buzzonetti. Then there were prayers and readings of the Gospel. Nun Eufrozina was reading the Gospel. Also, she and nun Tobiana were leading the prayers. After 2 p.m., the Holy Father began to lose consciousness. He was gradually turning off. He calmed down; more often was closing his eyes and was falling asleep. We no longer had a direct contact with him, he calmed down. But, from time to time, he was coming back to us. He looked and it seemed that he slightly smiled.
– Did you say goodbye to the Pope?
– It was about 4 p.m. We knew that he was losing strength. We only approached the Holy Father; we kissed his hand, the ring. And each of us said to the Holy Father what he/she wanted to say at the end. It was “thank you”, or “May God pay you for everything” or simply “Please, bless me”.
– And what did you say?
– I said, “May God pay you for everything, Holy Father” and “Please, bless me.”
– Did the Holy Father answer something?
– No. He just looked at me. Very cheerfully and with a conscious look. With his hand, he made a sign of blessing. There was no sign of despair in it. As if he wanted to say, “All of you – do not worry,” “Do not worry, Mieciu”. He was the same as always. And, it made me uneasy. As, on the one hand, I did not want to show that it was a farewell, that it is the end. I did not want to have such atmosphere. And, on the other hand, we all needed it – words, gestures. A believer knows that this is the beginning of a better life, but when he says goodbye to someone he loved, someone so close to him, it is difficult for him to think about it without sadness, without grief.
With the permission of Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki – “He liked Tuesdays the most”
M Publishing House, Krakow 2008
