Following in the Footsteps of "Our" Pope (from Krakow to Canonisation)

The Krakow-Vatican City Express

Catholics: thousands of them; the old communist era tram groans under the theological and humanitarian weight of it all. Each new stop brings more of them, and my wife and I are pushed further apart. I see her down the carriage; the priest she has asked to move aside, so that she can validate her ticket, busy extoling to her the virtues of fare-dodging. At least that's her excuse...

The tram trundles on; on its roof, where once proudly flew the red flag, now fly the twin flags of the Polish Republic, long denied its political independence, and the Vatican City, inexplicably granted its. These flags symbolise of the dual nationalities of the local son we come to honour; Pope John Paul II: known here in Krakow as our pope.

Despite being somewhat unimaginatively named – I always thought Pope George Ringo would have been a far better homage to his predecessor – the city’s former archbishop remains hugely liked here – more due to his credited involvement in the fall of the hated Communist regime than the spurious claims that he smoked dope.

Finally disgorged, however, it is a somewhat incongruous reminder of some of the failings of his papacy which greets us; a catholic pressure group has set up at the base of the hill collecting signatures on their petition which attempts to link child abuse with the twin evils of homosexuality and sex education. My wife attempts to engage them in discussion but they briskly brush her off, leaving her negative perception of the procedings.

Holy Tack!

Post-Communist Poland has happily seized upon rampant runaway capitalism and the hill is lined with the same stalls selling mass-produced tack that I have seen at every other event I’ve attended. The Catholic Church itself has of course long since mastered this and by the time we enter the sanctuary my wife has collected five leaflets begging for donation to various “worthy” projects, cementing her view of the church.

The sanctuary we become caught in a seething mass of humanity gathered here from all over the world; a voice comes over the loudspeaker welcoming English speaking visitors – especially those from Seattle, and the Emerald city is bumped up my mental list of places never to visit. My wife dives headlong into the crowd convinced she can make it to the other side and I try to keep up.

After finally pulling her from the masses we make our escape through the rear of the sanctuary where a stylish new hotel demonstrates the extent of high-end Catholic spiritual tourism. Photos in the hotel window depict our Pope’s own pilgrimage here and that of his German successor – one can’t help but wonder how the Poles took to that appointment.

A lush field around the back of the sanctuary has become muddied by thousands of the faithful staring up in silence at the great screen relaying events live from the Vatican. Making our way around the edge of the crowd we notice a small sign pointing to the “Blessed John Paul II Centre” and I can’t help but note that the first word on that sign is going to need to be changed in a couple of hours.

To Be Completed...

The still under-construction centre, intended for completion in 2015, was one of the “worthy” projects that leafleted my wife for money upon our arrival but they have none-the-less done their best for the canonisation of their patron and a screen in the courtyard attracts some of the overflow from the great sanctuary at the bottom of the hill.

Sitting on the grass at the top of the hill and staring down at the screen below we joined with a sour-faced Lech Wałęsa and a just-happy-to-be-invited-anywhere Robert Mugabee as for the first time in history four Popes were gathered together in one place at the same time – admittedly one was retired and two were dead, but it was a momentous occasion none-the-less.

That night, at Bishop’s Palace at Franciszkańska 3, the miracle of modern technology resurrected our Pope with a 3D multimedia sound and light laser show that brought the beloved one-time arch-bishop of Krakow back to the “papal window” of his former home to talk and give blessings to his followers just as he used to do on his visits here.