Fr. Łukasz Bańkowski – Vatican City
He prayed for a wife here
Piotr and Ilona came from Pogórska Wola near Tarnów with their children and brothers. For their family, Rome is a special place. Seven years ago, Piotr went on a pilgrimage here with a priest from his parish. During Holy Mass at the tomb of John Paul II, he prayed for a good wife. “The following year, we were already here together,” Ilona recounts.
Today, they are returning to the Vatican as a family. A year ago, their young son Franek was held in the arms of the Pope. This year, their daughters met Leo XIV during the general audience. Klara “high-fived” the Pope. For her, the reason was simple: she wanted a keepsake.
Adrian, Ilona’s brother, came to Rome with the family. John Paul II reminds him above all of someone who knew how to reach out to people. “The greatest Pole. Pope. Healer of human hearts,” he says.
As he adds, many people may owe John Paul II help precisely in the most difficult moments of their lives.
It was worth getting up at six
Also at the tomb of John Paul II were young people from the Light-Life Movement. They came to Rome with Fr. Dawid Surmiak from the Good Shepherd parish in Istebna. For them, the pilgrimage is also a summary of their formation year.
Zuzanna has been in the Oasis for four years. She says that the Light-Life Movement has given her people and friendships that can last a lifetime. Rome, on the other hand, allows her to see places she had previously heard about during retreats and to return to the foundations of the Church.
Therefore, she does not regret waking up early to participate in the Eucharist at the tomb of John Paul II. “It was definitely worth getting up at six in the morning to come right here to the Vatican. It is a beautiful experience to be able to unite with him during this Eucharist,” she says.
She returns to John Paul II through his words and recordings. As she admits, despite the passage of years, they are still “beautiful and striking” to her.
“An experience of Polishness”
For Agnieszka, the morning Mass at the Pope’s tomb became something more – an encounter with her own roots far from home. “It is a beautiful experience of Polishness in a completely foreign country,” she says. “Tourists and the faithful from all over the world come here, and we were able to participate in Mass in Polish, right at the tomb of the Polish Pope.”
For her, John Paul II is above all a man who knew how to be close to the young.
“He was a man of the youth. He loved the youth,” Agnieszka emphasizes. “I love listening to his speeches to Poles and to young people.”
When emotion takes your voice away
A group of altar servers from the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Bolesławiec also came to Rome. They are accompanied by Fr. Tomasz Bunikowski, the diocesan chaplain for liturgical ministry.
“As a liturgical ministry, we want to go on pilgrimage to holy places, learn the history of the Church, and learn liturgy, especially here in Rome, in the heart of the Church,” the priest explains.
For Marcin, one of the most important moments of the pilgrimage is praying at the tomb of John Paul II. “For me as a Pole, coming here and praying in front of the tomb of John Paul II is an incredible experience. Such emotion takes hold, it touches the heart deeply. And my throat, well, you can hear how it is,” he says, not hiding his emotion.
One word: forgiveness
In the same group is Michał Styczyński, who has already been accepted into the propaedeutic year. He treats the Roman pilgrimage not only as getting to know the history of the Church, but also as an experience that can help him deepen his faith and discern his vocation.
From the life of John Paul II, he would like to take one attitude above all into his possible future priesthood. He points to the Pope’s behavior after the assassination attempt on his life and his forgiveness of the would-be assassin.
Thus, very different stories meet at the tomb of John Paul II. A prayer for a wife that, after years, turned into a joint pilgrimage with children. Young people searching for the foundations of their faith. The emotion of an adult man and a young person standing at the beginning of the path to the priesthood.
Everyone brings something of their own here. And perhaps that is why Adrian’s words describe so well what happens at the tomb of the Polish Pope: for the people coming here, John Paul II remains the “healer of human hearts.”
