Over the years, engineer Sagretti got to know the alleys of the Vatican like the back of his hand, although he never thought that he would end up here and that he would be able to spend a lot of his life behind the Bronze Gate, accompanying John Paul II during the most difficult, most painful period of his pontificate.
– It was a combination of chance and destiny. I knew il floriere at that time, I used to have contact with his family, but then for many years I did not see anyone from the family. One day, his wife called me unexpectedly, asking about my current professional life and mentioning that a furniture warehouse in the Vatican was looking for a qualified assistant. And, since I graduated from the engineering department, she and her husband thought maybe I would be interested. And, that’s how it started…
For all these years I was seeing the Pope practically every day. In total, thousands of times, and yet always, each time, he embarrassed me. He was so big… It took away my speech when he appeared. On the day my work began, I was introduced to him in the Hall of Blessings. I remember to this day when he entered, he had an inexplicable load of charisma. And, I saw this charisma in him until the very end. Even when, at the end of his life, he became incredibly fragile.
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Kraków 2020
Pages: 188 – 189
