The Holy Father constantly recalled the pilgrimage to the “Hill of Crosses” in Lithuania (September 7, 1993) near the town of Šiauliai.
The first crosses were stuck there after the uprising against Russia in 1863, and then this tradition continued, especially during the Soviet occupation. The communists devastated the hill, and the next day the Lithuanians again covered it with crosses. And, so it has been for years.
One of them was dedicated to the memory of the attempt on his life. With great sadness in his eyes, he whispered: “The world should come here and see this proof of the faith and martyrdom of Lithuania.”
John Paul II was able to read these tragic pages of history in the context of Divine Providence. The Baltic states had finally freed themselves from the foreign yoke, and for the first time he was able to direct his steps to places that had previously been officially incorporated into the Soviet Union. Above all, the thousands of crosses covering the hill were a symbol of human hope, which, with trust in God and human courage, must one day be realized. If this was possible in the past, despite the cruelty of those persecutions, it will also be possible in the future.
With the consent of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “Testimony”.
TBA marketing communication Publishing House. Warsaw 2007
