Now, I have to go back in time. I have to talk about Fatima…. In truth, John Paul II did not think of Fatima in the days that followed the assassination. Only later, after regaining his strength, he began to think about this unusual coincidence. Always May 13th! May 13, 1917 – the day of the first apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima; and, May 13th – the day when his assassination happened. Finally, the Pope decided. He asked that he want to see the third “secret”, stored in the Archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. If I am not mistaken, cardinal Franjo Šeper, the then Prefect of the Congregation, handed two envelopes to Archbishop Eduardo Martinez Somalo, a substitute for the Secretariat of State, who brought them to Gemelli polyclinic. One envelope contained the original text of nun Lucia in Portuguese language and the other included Italian translation. These were the days of a second hospital stay. It was there that the Holy Father read the “secret”, and after reading he no longer had any doubts. In this “vision”, he recognized his own destiny. He became convinced that his life had been saved; moreover, it was re-donated through Her intervention, thanks to Her care. Yes, it is true: “bishop dressed in white” was killed, according to nun Lucia. John Paul II, on the other hand, escaped almost a certain death. So? Or maybe that is what She wanted to say? That the paths of history and human life are not predetermined? And, that there is Providence; there is a “maternal hand” capable of making that missed the one who pointed the gun while completely sure that he would kill? The Holy Father said: “One hand was shooting, and another was carrying the bullet.” And today this bullet, from now and forever “harmless”, lies in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
With the permission of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “Testimony”.
TBA Publishing House. Warsaw 2007
