Let us go back to the morning Papal mass celebrated in the private chapel. After the mass, the Pope was not leaving alone his guests. He was inviting them for a meeting. The Mass was ending, and all guests were invited to a bigger room, so-called private library of the Holy Father. After 10-15 minutes after the Mass, the Holy Father was coming, greeting with all and giving to each person the Rosary as a souvenir. (…) The Holy Father knew well that this will be a precious gift for everyone and that it will be, in a way, some commitment to the Rosary’s memory and remembrance through prayers. He, himself always had the Rosary with him. He always prayed; several times per day.
After the Mass was breakfast. When the Holy Father was at full strength, each day a few guests were invited. When he was weaker, he ate breakfast only among the closest friends. But he never was eating alone. He did not like that. Archbishop Mokrzycki recalls that even in the hospital, someone was always accompanying the Pope during meals. Breakfast was always a traditional, Polish one. Sacred Heart Nuns from Cracow were preparing it. They knew well, what John Paul II liked the most: some cheese, cold cuts or scrambled eggs, big breakfast. The Holy Father was also drinking coffee with milk; big breakfast for a long, difficult day.
There was 9:30 a.m. Already the breakfast ended. In the hallway, Italian newspapers were placed. The Holy Father goes through them, then he goes to his office and over there he prepares himself for his daily tasks. He writes letters, homilies, encyclical letters. He has time until 11:30 a.m. as at that time the audiences start.
In the office, apparently, he is not only working. As Archbishop Mokrzycki says, he often prays over there. Sometimes, he goes on a terrace, where he prays the Rosary. Often, he does that in the morning. On the terrace, there was a tiny garden and over there the Holy Father liked to pray. He was even closer to God. Every Friday, he prayed there the Stations of the Cross. He, himself, asked to put the Stations of the Cross over there. At 11:30 a.m. the audiences started; before the audience – a short adoration in the chapel. Usually the audiences were ongoing until 1 p.m. except for Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On these days, there were no private audiences. On Wednesdays, there was the general audience, and on Tuesdays, John Paul II had a day off.
– Why Tuesdays?
– The Holy Father put his schedule this way and these free Tuesdays, the Holy Father liked the most from the entire week.
Archbishop Mokrzycki “He liked Tuesdays the most”
M Publisher, Kraków 2008
