After suppers, the Holy Father was going to his office. Until 9 – 9.30 p.m. he was still working. He was reading, writing, and composing documents. Around 10 -10.30 p.m., just before bed, he was going to the Chapel. It was the time for his private prayers. We can say that this was his Jasnogórski Appeal.
– Did he pray for a long time before going to bed?
– It was a brief visitation.
– Wasn’t he tired after the long day?
– He was going to bed between 10.30-11 p.m. He had a very strong body. Six hours of sleep was enough and he was waking up rested. He was a strong man and easily regenerated strength. It was visible also during the day. It was enough to rest for fifteen minutes. And, fatigue was going away. That what he did during pilgrimages. Thousands of miles, dozens of meetings and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims was an effort exceeding the power of seventy years old man. So, it might seem. A brief break, short nap after lunch, and again he was a volcano of energy. Again, he was getting wings. Sometimes, we were amused. We continued to be amazed at the fact that the Holy Father – although getting older and weaker – did not want to change his daily schedule. They asked, persuaded. To no avail. In his last years, he was getting up later – the entire half an hour. Then, everything was ongoing in the same, well known rhythm. He did not leave any prayer. Still was reading a lot. We were encouraging him to resign from certain religious practices or readings, but he said that he will never do that as it keeps him in good shape. He was reading everything. When he got a book, he was not allowing us to put it to the library. He was asking to put it on his desk. He had to at least to glimpse through it, read a few pages. Sometimes we were joking with professor Styczeń that the books were like a drug to the Holy Father. There was no such book, which he will pass by. There was a book, and then he will immediately stop by and look through it with a great interest. He was reading in English, in German. I had an impression that those moments during the day when he was able to simply read in peace, he liked the most.
With the consent of Archbishop Mokrzycki “He liked Tuesdays the most”
M Publisher, Kraków 2008
