Krakow
Death of a Pope
Palac Arcybiskupów in Krakow
Friday, April 1, 2005
The Pope is not doing well and they say any hour he will pass away; the city is
already on their knees.
Today his condition got much worse and the people of Kraków went to his church Franciszkański
and Pałac Arcybiskupów, soon overflowing into the streets. The city shut down the
streets and tram lines through old town.
The day is beautiful and sunny; the Rynek is hosting a show of children’s performances.
The square is filled with children in costumes as their parents and teachers record
their performances. Their innocence and naïveté exemplified the youth and the dawn
of life, in perfect contradiction of the events just two blocks away.
As night fell the crowds and TV stations came out and the ongoing service at Pałac
Arcybiskupów was quite the spectacle. The singing and prayers that were heard though
the silence were slowly replaced by the active Rynek as I walked away. The only
light near the Pałac was from the thousands of candles that sat on Wojtyła’s windows
and surrounding his church.
Later in the night the pope’s faithful have not left his church and the candles
lit hours before have become wax draped down the walls of his church. The singing
has not ceased and new candles were lit.
Saturday, April 2, 2005
In desperation, the Gazeta Krakowska read “Ojcze Święty, nie Umieraj!” (Holy Father,
Don’t Die!) on the cover.
Its 2:00 and the Krakovians are watching the TV just waiting for the moment of his
death, much like in St. Peter’s Square where the faithful stay day and night. It’s
just a matter of time now.
The planty is full of life: young couples, children, families just walking in peace
as the older men sit and talk politics. It won’t take a call or announcement to
signify the pope’s passing, but only the sudden silence of death that will fall
over the city. His significance in this city and country is immeasurable. He gave
these people more than any pope or any politician; he gave them hope. It was him
that inspired the Poles and it was him who the Poles looked to for guidance when
they failed to see a future. Since 1978, the people under communism saw a future;
they had a leader who gave them the so desperately needed hope. It was him, not
Moscow that controlled this country.
I went for a walk around the Rynek tonight, the atmosphere was strange, unlike I’ve
ever seen in Kraków. The press was everywhere and the Rynek was packed, mostly with
Krakovians, but also with its share of tourists.
As I approached Franciszkański and the Pałac a hymn broke the silent night air.
Nearing the end of the hymn, the bell on Wawel began to chime and after the song
came to an end the announcement was made: “Ojciec Święnty Jan Paweł II nie żyje.”
The people dropped to their knees, some began to cry, others in shock.
In complete silence 3,000 people prayed. A woman near me fell to tears, being only
slightly comforted by her boyfriend. Others began to cry softly; a grown man near
me couldn’t hold it in anymore. Some people seemed at peace, others deep in prayer,
and others simply broke down.
We kneeled in silence for a few minutes when a voice again interrupted the silence
for prayers. We remained on our knees and time seemed to stop. When we got up I
realized I was in the middle of the crowd and nearly 2,000 people had arrived during
the silence.
Within minutes people from every direction swelled the area and the bell on Wawel
continued to toll as did the singing. The tolling continued for what seemed an eternity
as people rushed in and later left with tears in their eyes. All the while the bell
tolled and the singing seemed to have the life taken from it.
People began lighting candles down the street and within minutes the entire street
was lined with them. Almost on cue a baby’s cry interrupted the bell and within
minutes those not praying were on their cell phones. This place was no longer a
center of prayer, but now a sight of pilgrimage.
The people rushing to the area weren’t just older people, mostly young people from
the bars around the nearby old town. The smell of alcohol swept in with these people
and later a friend said the bars froze with almost simultaneous calls forcing the
city to stop and everything closed immediately.
As the people came, I went to the Rynek; it seemed empty compared to Franciszkański,
but Mariacki was full and people were out the door praying. A woman’s cries were
heard over the hymns from the church and the Polish flag hanging from the southern
tower was now adorned with a black ribbon.
The Rynek looked like the tourist center it is with dozens of people, but almost
in a quiet whisper, trying to figure out where the Pope will be buried. There seemed
to be thousands of people, but no one seemed to be making any noise.
We walked back past Franciszkański as the people continued to come and go; we noticed
the bell had stopped tolling and I made the short walk home. The news stations had
nothing but information on the Pope’s death, the Vatican, and his life. President
Kwasniewski made an announcement along with other heads of states and Polish bishops.
Mariacki Church in Krakow's Old Town after the death of Pope John Paul II
Sunday, April 3, 2004
The day seemed like the beginning of the re-birth. The people seemed to be in whispers
other than the silence of last night. The newspapers were quickly sold out and pins
with a black stripe were handed out at Franciszkański. The crowds at the church
however seemed larger than yesterday and masses went on continuously throughout
the day.
I started the day with mass in Wawel; however getting into the cathedral was impossible.
The Rynek seemed busier than yesterday too and we had to fight our way through.
I went to the Archdiocese Museum, another one of the Pope’s former residences to
see the free exhibit. The first exhibit is a photograph collection of the Pope from
his days as a young priest up until this year along with memorabilia from the Vatican.
The photos were spectacular and the line to see the collection was out the door.
The banks of the Wisła were lined with people, the masses at Franciszkański didn’t
seem to slow, and candles had spread everywhere.
Monday, April 4, 2005
There was a candle-lit march through the city tonight with thousands of people.
Other than a few small groups singing songs the crowd was quite. The aura gave me
the goose bumbs and instilled the image of 1981’s White March following the assassination
attempt on the Pope. The surroundings reminded me of the stories I’ve heard about
1981, except it was more real.
The crowd was peaceful and the police stopped the traffic throughout the city, all
trams stopped and all roads on the route were shut down. It was again the youth
that led this march; it was youth groups, schools and university students. It felt
like all 180 thousand students in Kraków were there.
We marched to Błonia, the place the Pope decided to leave Poland from on his last
trip to his home country. To the left in Cracovia stadium there was a service uniting
fans from opposing soccer teams and in front of me was the field large enough to
hold two million people.
The area was filled with candles centered around a large rock on the northern side,
the site of the Pope’s last homily in Poland. One young boy of about six lit a candle
then seemed to collapse into his grandmother’s arms.
Here the atmosphere was quite different from the stadium and seemed much more peaceful
and religious. There were numerous groups holding hands and thousands surrounded
the rock from which Pope John Paul II gave his last homily in Poland. The mood and
feeling can’t be described as anything other than surreal.
Blonia after the death of Pope John Paul II
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
The newspapers are again filled with the Vatican and the front cover of the Gazeta
Wyborcza has the Pope’s body being carried across a crowd of mourners. The press
estimates yesterday’s unplanned march to have had 150 thousand participants.
Today was quiet, I walked past Franciszkański and the crowd was small, only about
200 people so the viewing of the candles and upper window were almost perfect. The
flowers are beginning to die, but the candles are only growing.
Tonight there was another march, however a short one with very few people ending
at Franciszkański for a large mass. This was the largest single mass I’ve seen since
Saturday night, although every church was full on Sunday.
The Poles seemed to have gone back to their homes and the tourists have either come
out or are just more noticeable now. Final plans are being set, Thursday night there
will be a White March, the funeral will be shown on a large screen in either Błonia
or the Rynek and Friday afternoon will be the Black March.
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Things today are quiet and I think they should remain so until tomorrow night with
the White March. I noticed today that the Pope’s name and years of his life are
on the bottom of Google… "Karol Wojtyła 1920 - 2005." In addition, Franciszkański
has found a great speaker system for the masses and every store has a picture of
the Pope in the window with a black line across the bottom corner.
Franciszkanska Church in Krakow after Pope John Paul II's deat
Thursday, April 7, 2005
The school groups were in town today, mostly young children some as young as pre-school;
one was being directed by two very patient nuns. The nuns kept putting the kids’
right hands on this guiding rope as their left was holding the hand of the child
next to him or her. Everyone in the streets seemed to get a kick out of them and
stopped to watch and laugh.
At 5:00 the White March proved to be a disaster because it was too organized and
people got frustrated by the delayed start. Soon people went anyway they could to
get to Błonia and the march turned into the entire western side of the city covered
with people as if the Rynek burst and the people just overflowed in a rush to Błonia.
Błonia looked like a concert venue with vendors selling Polish and Vatican flags,
two cherry pickers filming the scene, and numerous first aid stations. In addition,
there were four huge televisions within my view, a stage, and thousands of people.
People slowly arrived through the opening prayers of the mass and within a half
hour of the mass’s commencement the area was packed. As the sun fell the candles'
light replaced the sky's glow.
Mass was a memorial to the pope littered with lines like “holy father, you were
our father, our brother, our friend, and our teacher.” They really talked about
him as a friend and Krakow as his home. Near the end they also read an SMS from
the cardinal in Warsaw; the crowd laughed. To end the mass and the night everyone
lifted their candles as they sang the same song that they sang at Franciszkański
when they announced the pope’s death.
Friday, April 8, 2005
The funeral was this morning, so I got up at seven and was at the Rynek to meet
three friends at eight, making it to Błonia near 8:30. A mass started at nine and
by ten the area was about as full as it was yesterday, which today’s newspapers
estimated to be about half a million people.
As soon as the funeral started the people gazed at the screens following along with
all the prayers, and actions as if we were at the mass in person. We kneeled when
we were supposed to and prayed along with everyone in the Vatican. The funeral was
excessively long and by the end the medical staff was busy handing out water bottles.
After a cardinal spoke of the pope, the crowd in the Vatican applauded showing their
respect to the deceased, whereas everyone in Błonia fell to their knees and prayed.
At the end of the ceremony the pallbearers took the casket away and Błonia began
to clap until his casket disappeared into the church. The Polish television network
coverage ended with scenes from all over Poland celebrating the life of the pope:
from Gdansk, to Warsaw, Wadowice, and of course Krakow.
The walk away Błonia was quiet, as if we were really leaving a funeral. We each
were isolated in our thoughts of the pope, Poland, and life. Only after reaching
the planty did the whispers become audible, but even the Rynek was tired and although
there were thousands of people there it felt without life. Only after about an hour
did the people begin to liven up and talk.
The day seemed to be a long recovery slowly returning to life. The day ended with
the Rynek hosting two soccer teams coming together to mend their hatred and a concert
at Błonia by the Filharmonia with numerous classics including Mozart’s Requiem and
Bruckner’s Ave Maria. This has indeed become a celebration of life.
Memorial after the death of Pope John Paul II in Krakow
Monday, April 26, 2004
The new pope was elected, his name is Cardinal Ratzinger. During each of the elections
for the pope in the Vatican the bells tolled here from the time they met until the
smoke was released. During that final election, I was in the Rynek classroom when
the bells began to toll. Just before the end of our class the bells stopped and
our next professor, Dr. Basista came in to say that a new pope had been elected.
We still didn’t know who, but our class started without much fuss.
After about 10 minutes, Dr. Kucia came in and announced that it was Ratzinger who
was elected. This announcement was preceded by Johannes, a German student saying
that it will be terrible if he was elected. Fernando, from Spain was also greatly
upset and could not seem to calm down. I’m not sure if it is the man or his ethnicity
that upset Fernando, but he said “look at him, today the Vatican, tomorrow the world!”
Ratzinger took the name of Pope Benedict XVI.