It was a complete novelty in Rome. You can say a revolution. Neither in houses nor on the city’s squares Christmas trees were standing. And, here comes the Pope from Poland and he puts a Christmas tree not only in the papal apartment, but also on the St. Peter’s Square. The avalanche started. Italians started to love this tradition. Just as they started to love the Pope himself – says Archbishop Mokrzycki. – “Since then, there have been more and more Christmas trees in Italian homes. There were more and more Christmas trees on the streets and squares of Italian cities.
There were quite a lot of them in the papal apartment. In each room there had to be at least one -laughs the Archbishop. Spruces smelled beautiful. The Holy Father loved this smell. He often was saying: “Spruces smell here.” And, he smiled. He often admitted that this Christmas tradition was very important to him. And that he was longing for a moment, in which a Christmas tree will be placed in his home. He spoke about this to Polish young people who participated in the European meeting of young people in Rome, a year after a Christmas tree was placed for the first time at the St. Peter’s Square. “I have to tell you – he confessed – that I personally, although I’m old, cannot wait for the moment when a Christmas tree will be placed in my apartment. There is a profound meaning in all of this, which unites us regardless of age, both the old man and the little child reacts similarly, albeit on a different level of consciousness.” Every year, also Highlanders were bringing Christmas trees to the Pope. Sometimes, it was a week before Christmas, sometimes even earlier. According to the Archbishop, dozens of other trees came to St. Peter’s Square from a different country together with the Christmas tree. Trees, starting from very small ones to those two meters tall or even higher – he says. – Some for the papal apartment, some to St. Peter’s Basilica, others for Cardinals living at the Vatican. Together, there were about fifty of them.
With the permission of Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki, “A place for everybody”
‘Znak’ Publishing House, Krakow 2013
