The Archbishop admits that he remembers little from pilgrimages. There has always been a lot of work. Everything was happening so quickly. We were so focused on the Holy Father and on everything going according to plan that today it is difficult to recreate individual situations, gestures, words. But, Polish pilgrimages he remembers better. He accompanied the Holy Father on his last three pilgrimages to his homeland.
– Has the Holy Father experienced these pilgrimages differently, more than the others?
– He did not show it, but I think spiritually it was much easier for him as he flew to a close for him and a familiar reality.
– Home…
– Yes, home. – But, in this house it was not always the way the Pope would have wanted it to be. Then, it was probably not that easy for him…
– Then it was harder, but still these pilgrimages to Poland were a great joy for the Holy Father. Meeting with the land he had to leave years ago, with friends, with the places of his youth. The Holy Father has always been very diligent in preparing for these visits. He was up to date, because he often welcomed guests from Poland, on Sunday he ate dinner with Polish bishops. He knew everything. That’s why it was easier for him to write homilies or speeches. And always, as we know, he hit the nail on the head.
With the permission of Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki –“He liked Tuesdays the most”
M Publishing House, Krakow 2008
