I think that one of the biggest graces for all of us taking part in this pilgrimage will be the grace to know who John Paul II was on a much deeper level. There are plenty of books that can be read about his life and many of them are excellent. However, there's something about walking in his footsteps that teaches you more.
Today we visited the birthplace and childhood home of John Paul II and the Marian Shrine that changed his life and planted the seeds of his great Marian devotion.
The first stop this morning was the small town of Wadowice, located about 20 minutes from the retreat center in Krakow. Arriving to the town, we first visited the Parish Church of Wadowice. It was in this parish that John Paul II was baptized and received his First Holy Communion. In fact, JPII visited the parish in 1979, and while he was there he said, "When in thought I look back over the long path of my life, I reflect on how the surroundings, the parish and my family brought me to the baptismal font of the church of Wadowice, where I was, given on 20 June 1920 the grace to become a son of God, together with faith in my Redeemer." There is a large image in the Church commemorating his visit and it shows him kneeling in front of the baptismal font clinging to it in prayer.
Today we visited the birthplace and childhood home of John Paul II and the Marian Shrine that changed his life and planted the seeds of his great Marian devotion.
The first stop this morning was the small town of Wadowice, located about 20 minutes from the retreat center in Krakow. Arriving to the town, we first visited the Parish Church of Wadowice. It was in this parish that John Paul II was baptized and received his First Holy Communion. In fact, JPII visited the parish in 1979, and while he was there he said, "When in thought I look back over the long path of my life, I reflect on how the surroundings, the parish and my family brought me to the baptismal font of the church of Wadowice, where I was, given on 20 June 1920 the grace to become a son of God, together with faith in my Redeemer." There is a large image in the Church commemorating his visit and it shows him kneeling in front of the baptismal font clinging to it in prayer.
He is so dearly beloved by the people of Wadowice that the memory of him is written on every stone of the building. The paintings on the ceiling commemorate each of his encyclicals written during his Pontificate. On the back of each of the banners of Our Lady that hang from columns there is also an image of JPII. There is a painting of him in the adoration chapel. There is a chapel solely dedicated to his veneration. Next to the baptismal font there is an enlarged copy of his baptismal certificate, which also notes his First Communion, Confirmation, Priestly Ordination, Episcopal Ordination, elevation to the College of Cardinals, election as Holy Father, and beatification. (Good thing his coming canonization is the last thing to add, because I don't think there is room on the paper for them to make any more notations.) Finally, there are enlarged photo's of him from his visit in 1999 to the parish.
More importantly though, it brings the people to pray. During our 20 minute stay locals were constantly make their way in and out of the Church to stop and pray on their way to work or the store. We even saw groups of preschool aged children stopping in to pray. It was precious and edifying to see them all kneeling on the floor praying before his image.
After visiting the parish church we walked to the Carmelite Monastery of St. Joseph where as a young boy JPII used to serve daily Mass. During his visit to Wadowice as the Holy Father, he gave the monastery his scapular as a gift and so now it is displayed within a gold and glass case in the Church for veneration. The monastery has its own pride for the saint, naming him on its list of "Carmelite saints" as a member of the Third Order. The monastery is unique in that it also houses the relics of its founder, whom JPII himself, beatified.
Our pilgrim trek then returned to the main square of Wadowice where we made a little stop to eat the "Pope's Cake" before going on our tour of his childhood home. As a child, Lolek (JPII's childhood nickname) loved a particular kind of cake and when he had enough money, he and his friends would treat themselves to it. Now, practically every bakery and cafe offers it as the "Pope's Cake" (Kremowka Papieska).
More importantly though, it brings the people to pray. During our 20 minute stay locals were constantly make their way in and out of the Church to stop and pray on their way to work or the store. We even saw groups of preschool aged children stopping in to pray. It was precious and edifying to see them all kneeling on the floor praying before his image.
After visiting the parish church we walked to the Carmelite Monastery of St. Joseph where as a young boy JPII used to serve daily Mass. During his visit to Wadowice as the Holy Father, he gave the monastery his scapular as a gift and so now it is displayed within a gold and glass case in the Church for veneration. The monastery has its own pride for the saint, naming him on its list of "Carmelite saints" as a member of the Third Order. The monastery is unique in that it also houses the relics of its founder, whom JPII himself, beatified.
Our pilgrim trek then returned to the main square of Wadowice where we made a little stop to eat the "Pope's Cake" before going on our tour of his childhood home. As a child, Lolek (JPII's childhood nickname) loved a particular kind of cake and when he had enough money, he and his friends would treat themselves to it. Now, practically every bakery and cafe offers it as the "Pope's Cake" (Kremowka Papieska).
After treating ourselves to Kremowka Papieska in his honor we made our way to the home of JPII. His home is literally "in the shadows" of the parish church. It actually sits right next door and now functions as a museum dedicated to teaching pilgrims about his life. Providentially for us, the museum just reopened roughly two weeks ago, so we were one of the earliest groups to see it. (Let me just add that the Archdiocese of Krakow did an superb job in organizing and designing it.) During our tour, led by a Sister of Nazareth, we walked through his actual home. It was a quaint three room apartment that sat above a general store owned by a Jewish family. There was space for a living room, kitchen and one bedroom. Our tour guide informed us that they were able to set it up thanks to friends of JPII who were able to tell the directors how the home looked. It was in this apartment that Karol Woytyla was born and his mother died.
Besides the actual apartment, the museum wasalso filled with numerous unique and incredible artifacts: his primary and secondary school report cards, a personal prayer card he signed and titled "Magnificat" commemorating his priestly ordination, one of his body guard's suit jacket stained with his blood from the assassination attempt, the pistol used by Ali Agca, the canoe he is seen using in photos of camping trips, and the clock that was in his Papal apartment, which stopped working at the exact moment he died (04/19 - 09:37:05). I personally found it enjoyable reading the many personal accounts given by the university students who knew him while he was the chaplain at the Jagiellonian University. I found two to be particularly telling of his priestly concern for his students' souls:
- Jadwiga Kozkowsk recounted that one day she went into St. Florian's (Krakow) to pray and as she was kneeling she heard a stake of papers rustle in the corner behind her. When she turned around she saw Fr. Wojtyla under a lamp reading. The next thing she knew she was making her way to go to confession. After confessing her sins to Fr. Wojtyla, which was one of her most consoling confessions, she remembers him saying to her,
"Come again."
- Another girl offered her memories about their hiking and camping trips into the Polish countryside, saying that with them, "he was always a priest, at the same time being one of us, a wonderful pal."
With the unique tour of his childhood home complete we loaded the bus and traveled to Kalvaria. The Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Kalvaria (Calvary) is one of the most frequented Marian pilgrimage sites in Poland, second to Jasna Gora. It was to this Marian Shrine that Karol Sr. brought Karol Jr. on the first anniversary of his mother's death. On that pilgrimage, Lolek's father told him that, "Mary must be [his] mother now." We were blessed to be able to have a private Mass in the chapel of Our Lady of Kalvaria. In his homily, Fr. Diego talked about the impact of JPII's Marian devotion in the form of St. Louis de Montfort, not only in his own life, but in the life of the Church today. After Mass we had roughly three hours to be able to walk the paths of Jesus and Mary and visit the many chapels built to honor the Lord's Passion and Death. These paths were also walked by JPII on his first pilgrimage as a young boy, and on numerous occasions while he was Archbishop of Krakow for 10 years.
Finally, everyone agreeed that today's highlight, though, was the visit to JPII's home and the museum. It gave us a rare glimpse into the life and personality of God's greatest priest (if I may) of the Third Millenium. Personally, the more I come to know about him, the more my love for him grows.
Br. Christopher Etheridge
IVE Seminarian
Besides the actual apartment, the museum wasalso filled with numerous unique and incredible artifacts: his primary and secondary school report cards, a personal prayer card he signed and titled "Magnificat" commemorating his priestly ordination, one of his body guard's suit jacket stained with his blood from the assassination attempt, the pistol used by Ali Agca, the canoe he is seen using in photos of camping trips, and the clock that was in his Papal apartment, which stopped working at the exact moment he died (04/19 - 09:37:05). I personally found it enjoyable reading the many personal accounts given by the university students who knew him while he was the chaplain at the Jagiellonian University. I found two to be particularly telling of his priestly concern for his students' souls:
- Jadwiga Kozkowsk recounted that one day she went into St. Florian's (Krakow) to pray and as she was kneeling she heard a stake of papers rustle in the corner behind her. When she turned around she saw Fr. Wojtyla under a lamp reading. The next thing she knew she was making her way to go to confession. After confessing her sins to Fr. Wojtyla, which was one of her most consoling confessions, she remembers him saying to her,
"Come again."
- Another girl offered her memories about their hiking and camping trips into the Polish countryside, saying that with them, "he was always a priest, at the same time being one of us, a wonderful pal."
With the unique tour of his childhood home complete we loaded the bus and traveled to Kalvaria. The Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Kalvaria (Calvary) is one of the most frequented Marian pilgrimage sites in Poland, second to Jasna Gora. It was to this Marian Shrine that Karol Sr. brought Karol Jr. on the first anniversary of his mother's death. On that pilgrimage, Lolek's father told him that, "Mary must be [his] mother now." We were blessed to be able to have a private Mass in the chapel of Our Lady of Kalvaria. In his homily, Fr. Diego talked about the impact of JPII's Marian devotion in the form of St. Louis de Montfort, not only in his own life, but in the life of the Church today. After Mass we had roughly three hours to be able to walk the paths of Jesus and Mary and visit the many chapels built to honor the Lord's Passion and Death. These paths were also walked by JPII on his first pilgrimage as a young boy, and on numerous occasions while he was Archbishop of Krakow for 10 years.
Finally, everyone agreeed that today's highlight, though, was the visit to JPII's home and the museum. It gave us a rare glimpse into the life and personality of God's greatest priest (if I may) of the Third Millenium. Personally, the more I come to know about him, the more my love for him grows.
Br. Christopher Etheridge
IVE Seminarian