The funeral rites were ending. There was a great silence on the St. Peter’s Square, as if suddenly time had stopped. The separation moment was approaching. Separation with the coffin, with what it meant, but not with this man, endowed with the power of the Gospel. There could not have been a separation form a man like Karol Wojtyła, who sowed around the entire world. And suddenly, above people’s heads appeared inscriptions with only two words: Santo subito. The same words chanted faceless voices, immersed in an oceanic crowd. They chanted in equal rhythm: Santo subito, Santo subito. (…) Heads of state and heads of governments, who came from all sides of the world, looked curious. They tried to understand. I cared about the faces of some Cardinals and personalities of the Roman Curia, whom I knew well. They leaned out to see where these cheers were coming from. Then, they turned to me smiling, but what did they want to tell me? (…)
I knew that he was a saint since Father Wojtyła was my professor in the seminary. This conviction was strengthened over time, when I stayed next to him, day after day, first in Krakow and later in the Vatican. He lived his holiness discreetly, in secret, in the midst of daily activities. This holiness took the form of service, evangelical radicalism. But it was holiness, if I could express it that way: incredibly normal. One could talk about so many facts, some truly inexplicable, that it was necessary – and still needs to be done today – to stay with respect as before the sanctuary of the soul.
With the permission of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “At the side of the Saint”
St. Stanislaw BM Publishing House, Krakow 2013
