In the Clementine Hall, on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace, there were audiences for groups from Poland. Sometimes there were a lot of people. Once, around 6:30 p.m., such an audience was to take place. Father Konrad Hejmo, the protector of Polish pilgrims, brought too many faithful, 400 maybe 500 people. They were crowded; everyone wanted to get to the Pope.
In his book “Witnesses of Holiness” Father Hejmo recalled these moments: “there were far too many groups. I planned to leave some of them in the corridors, and introduce at the beginning as many people as the capacity of the Clementine Hall allowed. Following groups were to come after those who had already met the Pope. When I started setting them up, I was informed that the Pope was already coming. Everyone entered the Hall. There was a terrible commotion. Since it was not possible to separate the groups, Fr. Stanislaus instructed people to move and stand next to the walls, and the Holy Father slowly was passing by, stopping, photographers were taking pictures. The first, very large group, after the passage of the Pope had to leave the room. Of course, people were very dissatisfied.”
The Holy Father barely was able to pass by. He would approach a group, talk for a moment, and set himself up for a photo together. There was a lot of commotion and confusion. And, noise – everyone wanted something, everyone was talking. At one point, one of the priests shouted: “Holy Father! Here is my mom. She came especially to the Holy Father!” I must admit that I did not hear this in this tumult. It was only after I left the room that the Pope told me about it. And, he added: “Mieciu, tell Father Heymo to bring this priest’s mom, because I did not greet her properly.”
Father Konrad Hejmo recalled the priest’s words: “His cry was full of despair, even though he was in the crowd and not everyone heard him. The guardians were quickly asking the pilgrims to leave, so I didn’t even see this priest’s face. After the audience, I was looking for him in all houses and guesthouses where priests usually stopped, but without any results. After a few hours, I finally managed to find this priest. The Holy Father invited him and his mother to a holy Mass in the private chapel. Later he met with them.”
Secretary of two Popes – conversation with Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki. Wydawnictwo Literackie Publishing House
