JPII Day
Today we went to Wadowice, home of the late, great Pope John Paul the Second. Pope John Paul was, of course a Pole - and they love him.
No less that seven albums in the top 50 of the Polish record charts have featured the late pontiff since his death earlier this year. His books and biographies are read by everyone and anyone from teenagers to the homeless (see Vicki's Warsaw post) Bancomats advertise the soon to be released biographical movie of his life. So we were expecting a visit to his hometown to be a colourful affair, full of trinkets and memorabilia and stricken Polish Catholics anxious to pay homage to their 'papiez.'
In actual fact our visit to Wadowice was nothing like this. Although sizable number of umbrellas snaked their way up the hill of John Paul the second's childhood residence, too many by far to fit in the small shrine to his early life consisting of photographs, furniture and clothing of the young Karol Wojtyla (gasp!), there were nowhere near the coach loads of tourists we were expecting.
The church of John Paul's baptism is a modest building with an architectural onion on the top, not ostentatious in its decoration and with no mention of its connection to the former Pope. The only indication that the Pope spent any time here was the regular, rousing masses sung with feeling by the visiting congregation throughout the day and the quiet reverence of religious tourists who knelt and prayed in the nave before the main altar.
Polish religious tourism seems entirely different in character to the Italian variety. Less commercial, less dramatic, less...busy. Perhaps we caught Wadowice on a bad day. The miserable weather was certainly a deterrent to those thinking of visiting the small hill top town. Perhaps it is because John Paul the second, a towering figure in Polish history and one of the most impressive Popes to date, is not yet a saint and lacks the power of intercession, so while JPII has accumulated a string of hit albums to his name, he has so far failed to attract the hoards of Pilgrims that attend the site of the miracle working Black Maddona of Czestochowa, north of Krakow.
Whatever the reason I hope Wadowice retains its quiet sincerity, the best kind of homage to Poland's finest and only Papiez, loved so well by Poles the world over.
No less that seven albums in the top 50 of the Polish record charts have featured the late pontiff since his death earlier this year. His books and biographies are read by everyone and anyone from teenagers to the homeless (see Vicki's Warsaw post) Bancomats advertise the soon to be released biographical movie of his life. So we were expecting a visit to his hometown to be a colourful affair, full of trinkets and memorabilia and stricken Polish Catholics anxious to pay homage to their 'papiez.'
In actual fact our visit to Wadowice was nothing like this. Although sizable number of umbrellas snaked their way up the hill of John Paul the second's childhood residence, too many by far to fit in the small shrine to his early life consisting of photographs, furniture and clothing of the young Karol Wojtyla (gasp!), there were nowhere near the coach loads of tourists we were expecting.
The church of John Paul's baptism is a modest building with an architectural onion on the top, not ostentatious in its decoration and with no mention of its connection to the former Pope. The only indication that the Pope spent any time here was the regular, rousing masses sung with feeling by the visiting congregation throughout the day and the quiet reverence of religious tourists who knelt and prayed in the nave before the main altar.
Polish religious tourism seems entirely different in character to the Italian variety. Less commercial, less dramatic, less...busy. Perhaps we caught Wadowice on a bad day. The miserable weather was certainly a deterrent to those thinking of visiting the small hill top town. Perhaps it is because John Paul the second, a towering figure in Polish history and one of the most impressive Popes to date, is not yet a saint and lacks the power of intercession, so while JPII has accumulated a string of hit albums to his name, he has so far failed to attract the hoards of Pilgrims that attend the site of the miracle working Black Maddona of Czestochowa, north of Krakow.
Whatever the reason I hope Wadowice retains its quiet sincerity, the best kind of homage to Poland's finest and only Papiez, loved so well by Poles the world over.
posted by Polska Adventurer at 1:10 PM
2 Comments:
Beautifully written account, I shall miss my morning news while I am on holiday in Corfu. Mind you I expect there will be loads more to read and see when I get back.
Wishing you a safe return, you Intreped Adventurers.
KaysDad
Hi hope today went well. I thought about you all today. Looking forward to account. Love Nikki (the one related to neice and nephew)
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