I was very slowly approaching the crowds, the fence, and at some point I no longer knew what to do. I wanted to turn, but the Pope gently but firmly tapped me on the right shoulder and said: “Pietro, forward!” I asked the butler in a whisper if he had heard what the Holy Father had said. He was also in consternation. We did not know how to get there, because there was a wall of people, full of television cameras, Vatican photographers, all set up in the place where we were to turn towards the altar. I got to the fence itself, but at the last moment I hesitated what to do next, everything was closed! The Pope tapped me on the shoulder again and in a very decisive voice, even though he was already weak, he repeated: “Pietro, I said, go forward!” I reached the barriers directly and immediately the faithful dispersed to the sides, the guards and gendarmes quickly began to put down the barriers – and so we passed, with the great enthusiasm of those tens of thousands of people who filled the square to the brim. It was indescribable, and the Pope was overjoyed. He immediately got wind in his sails, despite the illness and suffering he straightened up, he was really in his element. That was until the very end. He always wanted to decide for himself, he was convinced of his decisions and he did not let anyone lead him by the nose.
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Kraków 2020
Pages: 249 – 250
