BENEDICT IN POLAND
With his visit to Poland, Benedict XVI won the adjective “our” that had been reserved for John Paul II since 1978. Four days were enough to conquer the hearts of the compatriots of his predecessor. For the Poles, a German Pope has become “their” Pope. Up to the last moment, before this historic visit of Pope Benedict XVI, a lacklustre welcome was feared. His German origin, the incomparable affection of the Poles for John Paul II, the nostalgia for “their” Pope and the image of Cardinal Ratzinger as a severe guardian of Catholic doctrine seemed insurmountable obstacles. Nonetheless, the almost 3 million people who participated in the meetings with Benedict XVI failed to find in him the “panzer-kardinal” they had been led to expect. What they found instead was a “humble and modest worker in the vineyard of the Lord”. WELCOME HOME. “The Krakow of John Paul II is also my Krakow” – admitted the Pope during the mass celebrated for roughly half a million faithful in Blonie Park in Krakow on Sunday, 28 May. “Welcome home” – chanted the young in front of the window of the archbishop’s residence in Krakow two days later. Was it a great desire to “see the Pope”, in a kind of sentimental journey to commemorate John Paul II? Perhaps. But listening to the applause of the young, begun at the moment when the Pope spoke of not “opposing Christ to the Church”, taking in with his gaze the 300,000 people who had spent the night in the open, under the rain, while awaiting the Sunday mass, and listening to the opinions of the young, it cannot be said that Polish Catholicism today is superficial. Many who came to Warsaw to participate in the Pope’s solemn meeting with the young were unable to find a particular reason for their pilgrimage: “they just felt “they had to come”, they say. Others came from all over Poland, others from abroad, brandishing the flags of their nations: Slovakia, Germany, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Belarus… to acclaim “Benedict, Benedict, God has elected you”. THE “PAPAL” WINDOW . Benedict XVI did not disappoint their hopes. On the contrary, he surpassed all expectations, showing himself no less than three times at the window of the archbishop’s residence in Krakow, from which John Paul had always held his evening meetings with the young. This window of John Paul II has recently been dubbed the “papal” window. Several thousand people, mostly youth, spent from two to five hours there to get a glimpse of the small white figure. On the evening of Saturday 27 May the Pope gathered the young around him, mixing hymns, prayers, reflections on the problems of youth, silence and meditation. This event demonstrated that the Polish phenomenon of the “generation of JPII” had now become the “generation of B16”. But, leaving aside the slogans, it may be said that numerous Polish youth are eager to build their life on the rock of the faith, as the Pope had exhorted them to do. “WIR LIEBEN DICH”. When the Pope left the sanctuary of the Madonna of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, 15,000 pilgrims gathered on the hill chanted: “wir lieben dich” – “we love you”. The Poles welcomed the Pope in German! Against every stereotype, a sign of the time, a clear and important symbol in the still open debate on the reconciliation between Poles and Germans. For the faithful, in particular the more elderly at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, this acclamation in German must have cost no little effort. The youth of Blonia, who had placed the German flag and the Polish flag on the same mast, had no such scruples and it cost them no effort at all. Now it’s the European identity that occupies an important place in their consciousness. THE COVENANT BETWEEN EARTH AND HEAVEN. A rainbow was formed over the concentration camp of Birkenau while the Pope was paying tribute to the victims of Nazism. An unforgettable image! The rainbow, biblical symbol of the Covenant between God and Man. It’s a symbol particularly pregnant with significance at Auschwitz. But, in the context of Benedict XVI’s visit, it also makes us think of another covenant: the alliance and concord between Poles. Was he able to reunite the Poles? Has he made the Poles stronger? The tears at Balice Airport, from which the Pope flew back to Rome on 28 May, demonstrated that Poland has need for a guide. “Remain strong in faith”. This motto must come to terms with the reality of a political crisis, with the “purification” of memory and the emigration of thousands of youth. It is up to the Poles to choose whether to live only from memories or try to embrace the substance, the very rich content of the teachings of a Pope who won their hearts.
