– My daily activities also included constant care of plants and flowers in the apartment of John Paul II. I was bringing fresh bouquets, I took care of the plants standing there, starting with the private chapel, where the Pope celebrated Mass every day at seven o’clock in the morning for a small group of people. I delivered – of course together with a friend, because it was all very heavy – Christmas trees, which we set up in the entire apartment in different rooms, and in the pre-Christmas period the stars of Bethlehem. We exchanged seasonal plants. Some could stand for several months, like rubber plant or various bonsai trees. Others, once a week, we took both from the apartment itself and from other interiors of the palace to the greenhouse, where we cleaned, added a little fertilizer, watered properly and only delivered back to the top. Most often I looked into the apartment alone to see if the plants were all right and to check their condition, and when it was necessary to move larger pots, I asked for help two or three trusted colleagues.
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Kraków 2020
Pages: 137 – 138
