These were unforgettable days and wonderful experiences that will remain in the heart and memory of everyone who participated in the jubilee celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the John Paul II Foundation for a very long time. I was lucky that among the many members of the Foundation from all over the world I was able to be present there along with my husband. Unfortunately, due to various duties, we were not allowed to participate from the very beginning. We flew from Paris to Rome only on Thursday evening, at the end of the second day of the ceremony. But, before that happened, I was looking forward to the day when I would get on the plane, leave my everyday life behind, move my thoughts and imagination to the place where my friends and acquaintances from various JPII Foundation Chapters have been for several days. Every day, with great interest I was checking the Foundation’s website, looking for familiar faces in the photos, in order to spiritually connect with those who are already participating in the celebrations.
It’s true…. we missed a lot during the first two days, but also many great experiences and events were just waiting for us!
From the very first moments, when we crossed the threshold of the Polish Home on Via Cassia, we felt at home. The Director of the Home, Fr Łukasz Kotarba, immediately took care of our well-being by inviting us to dinner. After the meal, despite being tired after a long day and after the trip (we were still working until noon), we stayed on conversations until late at night among friends and acquaintances, enjoying the reunion.
The next day, just after breakfast in front of the Polish Home, buses were waiting for us, which took us to the walls of the Vatican, and more precisely to the Hall of St. John Paul II to the Pontifical University Urbanianum, where we participated in a symposium on “The John Paul II Foundation in the face of new challenges”, and the leitmotif was – how to pass on the legacy of the pontificate to subsequent generations. The symposium was organized by the Center for Documentation and Study of the Pontificate of John Paul II.
It was attended by many distinguished guests, including Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Vatican – Adam Kwiatkowski and many others, but this has already been written about in the current reports from the ceremony. I will only add that among the invited guests there was also the Rector of the Catholic University of Lublin, Rev. Prof. Mirosław Kalinowski.
In the afternoon, after a lunch break, we went to the beautiful Basilica of St. John Lateran. It is a church filled with extraordinary charm, where you can find the atmosphere of the past centuries, and in the main altar there is a special reliquary – part of the table top at which St. Peter was to celebrate the Eucharist during his stay in Rome.
We also participate in the Eucharist. The Holy Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski, who preached the word of God. Based on the words of the Gospel according to St. Luke: “Everything has its time and there is an appointed hour for all matters under heaven”, the Archbishop summed up that “the Foundation named after John Paul II, in which by the will of Divine Providence we were given to work, is to not only consolidate our memory of St. John Paul II, but also deepen: for our good, for the proper formation of our identity, so that our lives and those who will come after us may be filled with hope, sometimes open to eternity”. It was an extremely solemn Holy Mass concelebrated by more than thirty priests from different parts of the world. Among the distinguished priests were Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz and a former scholarship recipient of the Foundation of Polish origin, Archbishop Józef Staniewski from Belarus.
After a day full of impressions and beautiful experiences, we returned to the Polish Home at via Cassia. And after dinner, those who still had the strength met in the dining room for conversations and spontaneous singing. The atmosphere that was created at that time cannot be described in words. You had to experience it yourself.
The next day, already on the fourth day of the ceremony, many great events awaited us, but I will write about it next time.
Elżbieta Noster, the JPII Foundation Chapter from Aulnay sous Bois (France)
