The Holy Father always prayed on May 13th at 5 p.m. We were celebrating a holy Mass in his chapel as a thanksgiving for saving him from death. And, we were not inviting anyone to this Mass. We prayed, you could say, with limited attendance. It was the same on New Year’s Eve; such an intimate Mass at midnight. We were giving thanks to Our Lady for the past year. We were the only ones – the Holy Father, secretaries, and nuns. After this Mass, he always made wishes to continue to be together and that everything would work out well… And, it was working well. We felt good together as in the family. Although, as Archbishop Mokrzycki points out, both of them, Cardinal Dziwisz and he, have always treated the Holy Father with due respect. As we were greeting the Holy Father for good morning, we were kissing him in the ring. Similarly, for good night. And, he smiled and blessed them; them and the entire world. He had such a habit that every day before bed time he was looking through the window at St. Peter’s Square and was making a sign of the cross in the air. It was his private, evening Urbi et Orbi.
With the permission of Fr. Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki – “He liked Tuesdays the most”
M Publishing House, Kraków 2008
