That afternoon, when he appeared among an immeasurable multitude of young people, and I was looking for him, climbing on my toes to see white Papa mobile sneaking between the colorful sectors of flags from all over the world, he gave the impression that a new spirit had entered him. On the large screens we saw close-ups of his face radiating with joy from the meeting with the “guardians of the morning”, as he called us – the young generation that was to introduce the world into the new millennium. We had no idea how much suffering is associated with every step, how much effort it cost him to struggle with his own physical weakness.
– I arrived from the Vatican to Tor Vargata in the early afternoon to complete all the logistics to the last button. When the Pope arrived, I was standing just behind the stage. In the back, where there was no camera light, he was already supporting himself with a cane. I remember that accident when, in the distant 1994, he slipped in the bathroom and broke his femur. He returned to intensive activity too early; he did not want to wait until he regained full fitness. He was stubborn with such highlander’s note! It turned out to be only a prelude to later problems. Soon he began to limp a little, until over time it was only worse.
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Kraków 2020
pages: 198 – 199
