I have received the ordination to be a priest by the unforgettable Prince Cardinal Adam Sapieha, Archbishop of Krakow, on the day on which this sacrament is usually not provided. On November 1st, we celebrate the All Saints Day and the entire liturgy of the church is related to experience the mystery of saints’ presence and preparation to the All Souls Day. However, the Cardinal chose this day, as I had to go to Rome for further studies. Only I was ordained on that day in the private chapel of the Krakow’s Bishops. My colleagues were to be ordained the following year, on Palm Sunday.
The whole of October was for me the month of the ordination of the sub-deacon and the deacon and the three series of retreats that preceded them. (…) My last retreat I did myself in the seminary chapel. Then, on the All Saints Day, I went to the Archbishop residency at Franciszkanska Street 3, to be ordinated. A small group of my relatives and friends participated in the ceremony. So in this chapel during the singing of Veni, Creator Spiritus and the Litany of the Saints, lying in the prostate, I awaited for the moment when the Archbishop to lay his hand. This is a particularly inspiring moment. Later, many times I provided the Rite of Ordination as a Bishop and also as a Pope.
John Paul II “The Autobiography”
Polish Publishing house – Literary Press – 2005
