The time of pain was ending, and with the passage of months and days, the time of nostalgia began – slowly, insidiously. But how could a man who saw Karol Wojtyła every day for almost forty years, talked to him, prayed, ate meals, go through that time? And, one day, in May 1981, holding him in his arms after the assassination, was afraid that he was going to die. The one who went on pilgrimages and traveled the world with him, visited so many countries, was with him among millions of people, and at the end of every day, wherever they were, always wished him a good night.
In my heart, in my memory, in me, there remained an engraved trace of those years we have spent together. It could not have been any different. It was about the longest and most important experience of my life. No wonder that after all this there was great nostalgia; nostalgia after him and after the whole period by his side. But it is constructive nostalgia, if I can phrase that in such manner. It inspires me in the service of the Church. An inspiration full of gratitude and hope, as the world increasingly discovers the holiness of John Paul II. Just look at the long, endless processions to his tomb, first located in the Vatican grottoes, and now in the Basilica of St. Peter, next to the altar of St. Sebastian. People come to talk to him, to entrust their affairs, to ask for his intercession in their unresolved problems. For all these people, the Holy Father did not die. He is present in their spiritual life as well as in everyday events. They are also coming to me or writing asking for my intercession to him. I am sure that the Holy Pope will intercede for them at the throne of the Supreme. They also make pilgrimages along the paths of his life to meet him again, to know him better, to ask for mediation.
With the permission of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “At the side of the Saint”
St. Stanislaw BM Publishing House, Krakow 2013
