I had the great privilege of sharing with the Holy Father his last period of life. I was with him all the time all the most difficult time of illness and slow departure. Today, in retrospect, I see as the most valuable the fact that I experienced the entire situation at his home, staying with the Pope twenty-four hours a day. I think it was the most beautiful time in my whole life. The atmosphere of family warmth that emanated from this place and the unimaginable depth of John Paul II’s relationship with God, which I noticed every day, even in the most painful and difficult moments, were for me an invaluable lesson of life.
When John Paul II returned from the hospital for the last time, shortly before his death, together with my substitute, the second paramedic – Andrea, we moved permanently to his apartment. Since then, we have been there around the clock. The former dental office, which was adjacent to the papal bedroom, was transformed into a small duty room. We had all the most necessary resuscitation equipment at hand. There was also a small section for us with a bed to sleep in. I was separated from the Holy Father only by a small, thin door. I could hear his breath and every sigh. I could respond to every little need.
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Kraków 2020
Pages: 268 – 269
