Up to a certain point, John Paul II was able to climb the stairs from the back of the altar, under Bernini’s canopy, and sit on an armchair on top. Over time, things got even more complicated. Father Stanislaus told me that the Pope cannot come down from the throne on his own or to sit down on it. So, I had to provide some kind of system for transporting him along with the seat. Everything had to be organized in such way that during the ceremony in the Basilica the Holy Father on this chair set off from the chapel of Michelangelo’s Pietà, led by gentiluomini, passed among the crowds of believers through the central nave, and finally was lifted up in front of the altar itself. I organized everything and a special platform was created, on which – at a certain height – we placed the Papal armchair, thanks to which the faithful could see him well. Then this platform drove up from the back of the altar, and the chair was set on a small freight elevator that we mounted there, and the Pope, sitting on it, went up. Despite these physical limitations, John Paul II remained very active, also in the Apostolic Palace.
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Kraków 2020
Pages: 203 – 204
