On June 23, 1983, in the morning, finally the event took place, which was for a long time kept as a secret – a meeting with Lech Wałęsa, who was transported by helicopter with his wife and four children. The place chosen by the authorities due to its “not easily accessible” was a shelter in the vicinity of Zakopane, in the Chochołowska Valley, at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. Everything was prepared at the last minute by the security service, which put microphones everywhere in the room and used their own people as waiters.
Masquerade was so evident that the Holy Father immediately realized what was going on. He led Lech Wałęsa to the hallway and asked him to sit on the bench. If there were also “bedbugs” mounted, even if they eavesdropped, it did not matter.
At that moment, it was not the content that mattered, but the gesture itself. It was important that John Paul II was there and met Wałęsa. “I would like to say only one thing to the Lord: “I would like to say only one thing: I pray for you every day.” Every day he prayed for Wałęsa, for all women and for all the men of “Solidanośċ” (“Solidarity”). In this way, he showed to the entire world and, above all, to the communist authorities, that this movement is still alive and it is not a closed chapter at all.
With the consent of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “Testimony”.
TBA marketing communication Publishing House. Warsaw 2007
