There were more tangible signs of unity with Mary. Zuchetto donated to the Gate of Down, pierced belt at Jasna Góra, and finally a bullet in the crown of Our Lady of Fatima. To the greater Marian sanctuaries the Holy Father offered either a golden rose or a rosary. And yet, very meaningful gesture from the Jubilee Year. On May 12, in Fatima, the Holy Father placed at the foot of the statue of Our Lady a ring engraved with the inscription: Totus Tuus. Immediately after his election to the Holy See, he received this ring from Primate Wyszyński.
– Fatima was particularly close to him. Have you ever talked about it?
– The Holy Father once told us that he owes his life to our Mother of Fatima. But this cult of Mary was more than gratitude. He worshiped Her before and after the assassination; after She saved his life. It was just – or the most – confirmation of the path he chose; confirmation that he chose well.
– Did he infected the Archbishop with this Marian devotion or he did not have to?
– Certainly, the Holy Father had a great influence on me. As on all the other people who were able to spend more time with him. Looking at him every day, and especially accompanying him in prayer, it was difficult not to be penetrated with his spirituality. Today, first of all, I thank God for this: that I was able to learn from him this devotion, which was not really alien to me. After all, I was born in Łukawiec, and there is the sanctuary of Our Lady of Tartaków and Her miraculous image. The original image in the early 1990s was crowned in Lubaczów by John Paul II. Already then, our paths crossed. Marian worship was always close to me. In it, my vocation was born. But the ministry alongside the Holy Father has strengthened me in this love for Our Lady.
With the permission of Fr. Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki – “He liked Tuesdays the most”
M Publishing House, Kraków 2008
