What made interpersonal contacts very easy for John Paul were his language skills. He had real talent. He always tried to conduct conversations in the native language of the invited guests. And, he was constantly learning. In a strictly defined schedule of the day, the Holy Father had a designated time – usually at five o’clock in the afternoon – for Swedish, Finnish, Dutch or Spanish lessons. Of course, the choice of a particular language was related to the upcoming apostolic journey – depending on where the Pope planned to go on pilgrimage.
A few weeks before the trip, an interpreter would come to him and they would prepare speeches together. John Paul II wanted to know exactly how to pronounce individual words, where the accent is placed. I always accompanied these translators in an elevator. When they left the papal apartment and we were going down together, usually one and the same phrase was repeated – they were surprised by his ability to acquire knowledge. He was constantly learning. And, despite the passage of years and the progressing disease, he never lost his enthusiasm. I remember when at the end of his life – probably before his pilgrimage to Sweden – an interpreter came several times a week to prepare everything thoroughly with the Holy Father. Similarly, when the Pope was going to Japan: he learned to read his speeches in Japanese.
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Kraków 2020
pages: 50 – 51
