I have been on the roof every day since early morning. I loved to look down on Rome bathed in the fresh morning sun. And, the Holy Father never warned that he would join me. Sometimes, only if it was possible, Sister Tobiana let me know a moment earlier, then I would stop for a moment my work in garden and stand aside so as not to disturb. But most often the Pope did not explain to anyone at home that he was going to the roof, spontaneously got into the elevator, drove upstairs, and approached me by surprise. I heard his deep, bass “Buongiorno!” behind my back and it immediately warmed my heart, although each time I jumped slightly, even after years, because it was the Pope himself who stood a meter away from me and watched what I was doing with the plants. We usually exchanged a few words and I kept doing my thing. Or at least I tried, although my hands were shaking a little.
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Kraków 2020
pages: 142 – 143
