On October 13, 2021 in the parish of St. Mary Magdalene in Radomsko a unique ceremony was held. Archbishop Wacław Depo, Metropolitan of Częstochowa, handed over the relics of St. John Paul II to the parish community.
October 13 is not a random day; on Sunday, October 10, we celebrated another XXI Papal Day and October 13 in our parish is the day of solemn Fatima services, ending with a procession through the streets of the city. The day of October 16, 1978 we all remember; it is the day of the election of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła as Pope. On October 16, the John Paul II Foundation celebrates the 40th anniversary of its establishment by John Paul II; establishment of the Foundation that bears his name.
In the parish of St. Mary Magdalene, we are blessed to have the relics of St. Joanna Beretta Molla and St. Zelia and Louis Martin. For many years, it has been our desire that in our parish the Pope of the family, St. John Paul II cold be present in his relics. Piotr Hernoga, the parish priest, had great kindness to the idea of obtaining the relics. At the time of the introduction of the relics, the parish priest said: “We wanted to have another great intercessor before God, so that the memory of the Pope of the family would lead couples and families to fervent prayer through his intercession. We would like to express our special gratitude to Archbishop Wacław Depo, Metropolitan of Częstochowa. The relics of St. John Paul II are his personal gift. We must ask the Holy Spirit through the intercession of the Blessed Mother and St. John Paul II, whose relics we have on the altar, so that we can remain faithful to the grace of our vocations – emphasized the Metropolitan of Częstochowa in his homily. He also recalled the importance of trusting in God and fulfilling the call of Mary of Fatima who encouraged to pray, penance and conversion: “Meditate the Word of God, strengthen your relationship with Christ in the Sacrament of Penance and the Eucharist. Explore the problems of interior life and apostolate towards others in order to justify the hope that is in you and that is of God” – these obliging words of the Polish Pope which he left to the faithful as a task.
Who is John Paul II for us today? Above all, he is a saint, our spiritual Father and the greatest moral authority. For us personally, we recognize as a gift from God that we had a chance to meet St. John Paul a few times. The first time in the Vatican, more than 30 years ago, when the Pope laid his own hand on our joined hands and blessed our marriage. We had a few other meetings and our farewell meeting was the funeral of the Pope on April 8, 2005. After the departure of St. John Paul to the Father’s House, we were left with meetings and prayers at His Tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica. Our last meeting of this kind took place during the Eucharist in the Vatican on October 9th. Today, we feel happy that the Lord has put St. John Paul II on our path. Meetings with our Pope have had a huge impact on our personal, married and family life. Seeing how much has been given to us, we want to continue on the path of the Holy Father, John Paul II. We feel obliged and responsible for the memory of him and his pastoral teaching, especially about the family. What the Polish Pope wrote exactly 40 years ago about the family in Familiaris consortio, later in the Letter to Families or in Evangelium Vitae is still so relevant. It is applicable to the Polish and European reality and should be constantly reminded. We would like to realize this goal in our John Paul II Foundation Chapter starting from the day of the introduction of the relics of St. Pope to our parish. Fr. Piotr Hernoga, Pastor of the St. Mary Magdalene Parish would take care of the pastoral matters related to our Chapter and faithful from other Radomsko parishes are our Chapter’s members. We would very much like the members of the Chapter, realizing the words of St. John Paul II stated in the New Millennium Ineunte – the primacy of grace over action- first of all put emphasize on their prayers and then realize various pastoral and evangelizing projects. Let us love and imitate St. John Paul II even more.
Irena and Tadeusz Olczykowie
John Paul II Foundation Chapter in Radomsko
