I remember it was December 27th. Much snow had fallen in Mentorella. This did not prevent us to not go to the sanctuary. The Pope loved such escapades. He really felt at home there, like in his Polish Tatras. It was not easy – it is high and steep there – but we put the chains on the wheels and it worked. The moment we arrived, Father Jan was shoveling snow from the narrow passage to the very entrance of the church. There was literally a wall of snow around. When he saw the car approaching, he began to shout louder and louder: “No way, road closed!” He didn’t even notice that the Pope was sitting inside. I stuck my head out the window and said that it was the Holy Father who had come, and then John Paul II also leaned out on the other side of the car and asked in a low voice: “Well, Father John, won’t you let us in?” Only then did he see who we had brought, he grabbed his head and everyone laughed loudly.
The Pope loved that place very dearly … He was there already during his studies, then, when he was a priest, bishop and cardinal, he always returned there. It was his beloved refuge.
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Kraków 2020
pages: 160 – 161
