John Paul II was hearing confessions in spite of his illness, despite his weakness, each year, on Good Friday. He did not sit down in a confessional only on this last Good Friday, a few days before his death.
– And, how heard confessions of the Pope?
– The Holy Father had his private confessor. During his pontificate, there were a few. They were priests who worked in Rome, whom the Holy Father knew well. Rather, from Poland. (…) The Holy Father was going to confession once a week, received Holy Communion on a daily basis. There is no such photograph, which is a pity, as his Secretary says: it would have been a remarkable photograph. The Pope, the Successor of St. Peter, the Bishop of Rome – by the confessional, concentrated in front of the Host, with closed eyes. Craving reconciliation with God as the Body of Christ. Every day. It was his life, his daily life. He was for the world, but first of all, he was for Christ. The second Secretary talks about the other world to which the Pope was going to each day. They knew well that when he was there, they were not allowed to interfere. And, he was there often, frequently. Concentrated face, eyes almost closed… And then, when he was opening them, there was the true depth of the prayerfulness. They were in unity, says Archbishop Mokrzycki. And, with this unity, the Holy Father wanted to address people. He established a perpetual adoration in the Basilica of St. Peter, the Corpus Christi procession, the Rosary prayer on every first Saturday of the month, Vespers at the end of the old year, which were prayed, at first, by the Jesuits Fathers, and then at the St. Peter’s Basilica. (…)
With the consent of Archbishop Mokrzycki “He liked Tuesdays the most”
M Publisher, Kraków 2008
