Cardinal Dziwisz is in Rome for the ceremonies related to the burial of Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday. On Wednesday, he participated in the transfer of Francis’s body from the Domus Sanctae Marthae to St. Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful will pray by Francis’s coffin and pay tribute to the deceased Pope until Friday.
At Franciszkańska 3, he prayed in the early morning and washed his clothes
Recalling Francis’s ties with Poland, Cardinal Dziwisz reminded of the Pope’s presence at World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016. He recalled that for six days Francis lived at Franciszkańska 3 in the Archbishop’s Palace.
“We admired him in the papal window. But not only for that. Even when everyone was still asleep in the morning, he was already walking the corridors and praying. The sisters wanted to clean his apartment, but he washed his own socks. He went to the bathroom, wanting to wash what he had. He washed everything himself. He absolutely had a Franciscan spirit,” says Cardinal Dziwisz.
He became convinced that Poland loves the Pope
He adds that Francis experienced World Youth Day in Krakow very intensely and positively. He did not expect so many young people to come to Krakow.
“After all, over two million arrived. Moreover, there was this enthusiasm from the bishops, cardinals – there were about a thousand of them. I saw that when the Pope arrived in Krakow, he was a bit uncertain about what he would find there. However, when he saw these crowds of young people, the enthusiasm, the great order, the wonderful liturgy, he became convinced that this is a country where the Church is alive, where culture and love for the Pope prevail,” says Cardinal Dziwisz.
“And he left with that. And it remained in his heart. I can absolutely confirm this, because I was personally with him a few times, even recently,” he adds.
Francis was interested in Poland
As the cardinal says, Francis was interested in everything that was happening in Poland. “He regretted that there were problems that were unpleasant, that there were unfriendly attitudes towards the Church. He asked: ‘what is happening with Poland?’ – Cardinal Dziwisz tells Vatican News. – But Francis also always had confidence in Poland, he knew that Poland had always been faithful to the Church and faithful to the Pope. Poland never betrayed Peter. It was always faithful to him and remained faithful to him to the end,” says Cardinal Dziwisz.
He admits that this is also why he came to Rome, to participate in the last earthly journey of the late Francis. “Of course, as a cardinal, I also have a certain moral obligation to be with the Pope in his last moments and even in this farewell – he says. – I felt that as a Pole, as a person who had been here in the Vatican for so many years, I had to be here. That’s why I came,” he adds.
