J.M.J.
Today--Wednesday, May 13, 2020--is the thirty-ninth
anniversary of the assassination attempt made against Pope John Paul II.
Gratitude overflows when considering that horrendous
event because God, as always, triumphed over sin.
A beautiful reflection on the happenings of that day was penned some years
ago by then-Archbishop Stanisław Dziwisz (1939- ). I included his stirring meditation in
a little booklet entitled: “What Do You
Want of Me?” The Apparitions and
Message of Our Lady of Fátima (Goleta, California: Queenship Publishing Company,
2002).
This text by Cardinal Dziwisz originally appeared in
the May 30, 2001 issue of the English edition of L’Osservatore Romano
(pages 10-12) and was reprinted with the gracious permission of Dr. Carlo De
Lucia, Editorial Secretary.
May you be spiritually enriched by the moving words of
Cardinal Dziwisz, who is the Archbishop Emeritus of Kraków.
---
13 May 1981
Conference of Bishop Stanislaw Dziwisz for Honorary Doctorate from University
of Lublin
(On Sunday, 13 May 2001, the Catholic University of
Lublin conferred a Doctorate “honoris causa” in theology upon Bishop Stanislaw
Dziwisz, titular Bishop of San Leone, Adjunct Prefect of the Papal Household.
We are publishing the address which the Bishop gave for the occasion on that
special date: “20 years from the day on which divine Providence, through the
intercession of the Most Blessed Mother, saved the Holy Father from death at
the hands of his assassin.”)
Dear Magnificent Rector, Distinguished Guests,
Today’s meeting is taking place on a very special
occasion. Indeed, today marks 20 years since the day on which Divine
Providence, through the Blessed Mother’s intercession, saved the Holy Father
from death at the hands of a killer.
Neither we, nor especially, this university, which
boasts the prestige of having had Pope John Paul II as a professor, can be left
indifferent by the date of 13 May.
May this ceremony therefore be an opportunity to
relive the event we witnessed. In this context it seems right to fit today’s
meeting into the twofold dimension of “gift and mystery”, before which we must
bow our heads and respect their deep value. The gift is the Holy Father’s life,
which continues to bear fruit for the Church and the world; the mystery is the
attempt on his life, which we are trying to see in the perspective of Divine
Providence’s saving designs, despite the drama we lived through.
I asked to be spared the laudatio. However I thank
Prof. Nagy for his words, presented in the form of a commemoration. There will
not, however, be a lesson for us, but rather a testimony, the testimony of
someone who only just touched on the mystery in which perhaps he was an
instrument in God’s plans (I find it hard to recognize this) but who on the
other hand has certainly been an eyewitness of how that gift of the Holy
Father’s life has been lived in the course of 20 years.
I would like to delve into history, recent but
nonetheless important, for certain events concerning the date of 13 May 1981.
They are deeply impressed on my heart and only today have I mustered the
courage to speak of them publicly. I know that it is impossible to tell the
whole story or to understand it fully. Nonetheless, I consider them worth
recalling. I hope that mentioning the details of those events, generally
unknown, will serve not so much to satisfy curiosity but above all to help us
see how the Holy Father’s life was truly saved by a wonderful grace of God, for
which we must be constantly grateful.
For Poland, the year 1981 was a year of social and
political tensions, but it also heralded new times. The Holy Father’s words at
Gniezno, during the 1979 pilgrimage, on respect for dignity and human rights
and the rights of nations and societies to freedom, sovereignty and
self-determination made a deep impression on the common popular conscience.
Echoes of the papal homily during the Mass that inaugurated the pontificate were
still ringing out: “Do not be afraid, open wide the doors to Christ!”
In Italy too, May 1981 was a turbulent month. The
referendum on the abortion law was to take place and so a large demonstration
had been planned in Rome by the Communist Party on 13 May. That same day, the
Holy Father was to found the Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family
at the Pontifical Lateran University and to establish the Pontifical Council
for the Family as an organ of the Apostolic See.
On the evening of 11 May, at the Pope’s request, I
visited in his home in Poland Cardinal Wyszynski. The “Primate of the
Millennium” was permanently confined to his bed by a serious illness. He kept
me for a long conversation during which he wanted to convey his last wishes to
the Holy Father. He also wrote him a letter. He knew that he was dying. He
seemed very frail to me and completely abandoned to God’s will. He rejoiced in
the ceremony, announced for the following 8 June, for the act of entrustment of
the Church and the world to the Blessed Mother by the Holy Father with the
Bishops. The Primate longed to take part in this act, for which he had done his
utmost. However, because of his state of health, he could only appoint a
delegation that came to Rome.
I returned from Poland the day after my visit to the
Cardinal. On 13 May Prof. Jerome Lejeune from Paris, a world-famous expert on
genetics and a great defender of life, had been invited by the Holy Father to
lunch.
At five o’clock in the afternoon the Pope was to hold
the usual Wednesday General Audience.
At 5:17 p.m., during his second tour of the square,
the shots fired at John Paul II were heard. Ali Mehmet Agca, a professional
killer, had fired a pistol, injuring the Holy Father in the stomach, on the
right cheek and in the index finger. A bullet passed through the Pope’s body
and fell between us. I heard two shots. The bullets hit another two people. I
was spared, but their force was such that they could have passed through more
people. I asked the Holy Father:
“Where?”
He answered:
“In the stomach.”
“Does it hurt?”
He answered:
“It hurts.”
At that instant he began to collapse. Standing behind
him, I was able to support him. He was drained of strength.
It was a dramatic moment. Today I can say that at that
instant an invisible power came into action, making it possible to save the
life of the Holy Father who was in mortal danger. There was no time to think,
there was no doctor within reach. A single erroneous decision could have had
catastrophic effects. We did not even attempt to give him first aid nor did we
decide to take the injured Pope to his apartment. Every minute was precious. We
therefore transferred him to an ambulance in which there was also his personal
doctor, Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, and we rushed him to Gemelli Polyclinic. On the
way there the Holy Father was still conscious; he fainted on entering the
Polyclinic. As long as he could, he prayed in a whisper.
At the Polyclinic we met with consternation, which was
not surprising! The injured Pope was first taken to a room on the 10th floor
reserved for special cases, and from there he was immediately carried to the
operating room. From that moment the doctors were burdened by an enormous
responsibility. The surgeon, Prof. Francesco Crucitti played a special role. He
confided to me later that he had not been on duty that day and was at home, but
a mysterious force had impelled him to go to the Polyclinic. On his way, he had
heard on the radio the news of the attempt on the Pope’s life. He immediately
offered to perform the operation, especially since the head of surgery, Prof.
Castiglione was in Milan; he arrived at the Gemelli towards the end of the
operation. Prof. Crucitti was assisted by other doctors. The operating room was
crowded. The situation was very serious. The Pope’s body was suffering lack of
blood and the blood for the transfusion turned out to be incompatible. However,
some doctors at the Polyclinic who had the same blood group gave their blood
without a qualm to save the Holy Father’s life.
It was a serious situation. At a certain point Dr.
Buzzonetti turned to me asking me to administer the Anointing of the Sick since
the patient was in grave danger; his blood pressure was falling, and his
heartbeat very faint. The blood transfusion restored him to a condition in
which it was possible to begin surgery, which was extremely complicated. The
operation lasted five hours and twenty minutes. From minute to minute, however,
his hopes of survival increased.
A great many people flocked to the Polyclinic:
Cardinals who worked in the Curia. Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, Secretary of
State, was absent because he was traveling in the United States. Italian
politicians also came, with the Italian President Sandro Pertini who stayed
beside the Holy Father until 2 a.m. Indeed, he did not want to leave until the
Pope left the operating room. The President’s conduct was touching and far from
any kind of calculation.
The heads of the Italian political parties also
arrived: Picoli, Forlani, Craxi, Berlinguer and others. I add in the margin
that Berlinguer cancelled the pro-abortion demonstration which had been
scheduled for the evening of 13 May.
After the operation the Holy Father was taken to the
recovery room. The doctors feared infection and other complications; when he
came to, the Holy Father asked:
“Have we said Compline?”
It was the day after the assassination attempt. For
two days the Pope was in great pain, but his hopes of life were increasing. He
remained in intensive care until 18 May.
On the first day after the operation the Holy Father
received Holy Communion, and in three following days, he concelebrated the
Eucharist in bed.
There began to be talk of an international medical
consultation on which Cardinal Macharski insisted.
On Sunday morning, 17 May, the Holy Father recorded a
short reflection for the Regina Caeli. It consisted of words of thanks for the
prayers of many of the faithful, of forgiveness for the would-be assassin and
of entrustment of Our Lady. The attempt on his life had gathered the Church and
the world around him. This was the first fruit of his suffering. Poland watched
on bended knee. In Krakow the young people’s unforgettable “White March” took
place.
The Gemelli Polyclinic was besieged by journalists, ecclesiastical
and lay figures and thousands of people, ordinary folk. They came to the Pope
with love. Telegrams arrived from all over the world, in the first few days
more than 15,000 were counted.
That same day the specialists arrived: two doctors
from the United States, one from France, one from Germany, one from Spain and
one from Krakow. Their diagnosis of the Holy Father’s health and the progress
of his medical treatment were positive. A week after the attempt of his life we
sang the Te Deum.
People began insistently to associate the date of the
attack with the apparitions of Fatima. The rumour of a miraculous healing
through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima became more and more widespread.
As soon as he felt stronger, the Holy Father began to
accept visits, especially from his collaborators, the Cardinals, but also from
the representatives of other religions. We would normally celebrate Mass at 6
p.m., and then sing the litanies of the month of May with our sisters.
In the meantime we were receiving news from Warsaw
that the Primate Wyszynski was dying. The Pope was intensely involved in those
last moments. On 24 May—by telephone via Fr. Gozdziewcz—he conveyed his
greeting and his blessing to him. The following day, at 12:15 p.m., the Holy Father
spoke to the dying primate for the last time. Their conversation was brief. I
remember the words: “I send you my blessing and a kiss.”
On 27 May, the Holy Father tape-recorded his address
to the pilgrims of Piekaryt Slaskie. However he felt tired and complained of a
pain in his heart. The patient’s condition was deteriorating. He was subjected
to a careful check up. Cardiologists monitored him all night long. Heart
problems, as the doctors explained, had occurred because of a minor pulmonary
embolism, which was gradually reabsorbed. Day by day the worrying symptoms
disappeared from the electro-cardiogram.
On 28 May—the Solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension—his
state of health improved, but his hospital stay had to be extended. Cardinal
Wyszynski died on that day at 4:40 a.m. His death did not come as a surprise
but was deeply distressing to us all. We heard the official news of it at about
10 a.m. However, Fr. Piasecki had privately announced it to us at 6:30 a.m. I
told the Holy Father a little later. He was filled with sorrow at the news.
On 30 May, the Pope met Cardinal Casaroli and gave him
the letter with the text to be read at the Primate’s funeral. The Secretary of
State took part on behalf of the Holy Father who would have so liked to
participate personally.
On Sunday, 31 May, the Holy Father recorded his
address for the recitation of the Regina Caeli. His voice was already stronger.
At 5 p.m. he took part in Cardinal Wyszynski’s funeral by listening to the
Vatican Radio broadcast. During the funeral liturgy he celebrated his own Mass
at the Gemelli Polyclinic. After the Eucharist he said: “I shall miss him. We
were bound by friendship. I needed his presence.”
On the morning of 1 June, as always the Pope dedicated
himself to meditation and prayers. He then submitted to the medical
examinations. In addition to the doctors of the clinic, a Vatican doctor was
constantly present; every detail was followed by Dr. Buzzonetti. Later the Holy
Father received official visits and visits from friends. On that day, after
evening Mass, we began the functions in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Holy Father went home on 3 June. We celebrated
Mass at 12:30 p.m. Before leaving the Polyclinic, the Pope received Prof.
Lazzati, Rector of the Catholic University, and, in the afternoon, the doctors
and paramedics. He left for the Vatican at 7 p.m. His meeting with the Curia
and residents of the papal palace was moving. The Holy Father’s presence filled
the Apostolic See with new life.
Thus ended the first stage after the attack and the
dramatic moments of his struggle to survive.
The Holy Father continued to be under the care of the
Gemelli Polyclinic and Vatican doctors. On Friday, 5 June, he recorded his
address for the Solemnity of Pentecost to which the Bishops of the whole world
were invited. The occasion was the 1,600th anniversary of the First Council of
Constantinople and the 1,550th of the Council of Ephesus. During these
celebrations the Pope—in the spirit of the message of Fatima—wanted to entrust
to the Most Holy Mother the Church and the world and, in a special way, those
countries which, more than all the others, were expecting this act.
On Pentecost Sunday, 7 June, Cardinal Carlo
Confalonieri, Dean of the College of Cardinals, presided at the liturgy in St.
Peter’s Basilica. A recording of the Holy Father’s homily was broadcast, and at
the end of the liturgy he himself came to the basilica’s internal loggia to
impart his Blessing, to the great joy of all. The address that preceded the Regina
Caeli was also reproduced from a tape recording. The Holy Father appeared at
the window of his private study only to impart his Blessing to the large crowd
gathered on St. Peter’s Square.
The important ceremony during which the Holy Father
entrusted the Church and the world to the Mother of God took place in St. Mary
Major in the afternoon. Delegations of Bishops from every continent took part.
The words of this act prepared by the Pope were broadcast by Vatican Radio. The
Holy Father followed the whole ceremony on television. Cardinal Otunga of
Nairobi presided, and the procession was led by Cardinal Corripio of Mexico.
Thus was fulfilled the great desire of the Polish
Bishops and of the Primate, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, expressed during the
Second Vatican Council.
However on Tuesday, 9 June, the Pope’s fever returned,
and he had a general relapse. Analyses and examinations began in order to find
the cause. He felt acute pain and began to lose his strength. In addition, the
constant examinations were exhausting and had no concrete results. His
temperature soared to 40 degrees, where it remained for days, increasingly
sapping his strength. Another two professors were summoned to join the medical
team: Prof. Giunchi, a specialist in internal medicine, and the famous surgeon,
Prof. Fegiz.
On Sunday, 14 June, the Holy Father reappeared at the
window for the prayer of the Regina Caeli.
On 17 June, the Holy Father the Pope briefly met the
[Polish] farmer’s union Solidarnosc.
The medical team, concerned by his state of health and
even fearing for his life decided that he should return to the Gemelli
Polyclinic. He was so weak that he could not read the breviary on his own.
At 4:30 p.m. on 20 June, the Pope was once again
transferred to the Polyclinic for more precise examinations, which did not
immediately reveal the causes of the patient’s condition.
On 22 June infiltrations in the lungs became apparent
but gradually disappeared. On that day for the first time the cytomegalovirus
was identified as the cause of those very serious complications. This discovery
made it possible to apply the appropriate treatment.
At the Gemelli Polyclinic the Pope continued dealing
with many official matters. In the day he would receive his co-workers,
including the present Nuncio and Mons. Rakoczy, who then constituted the Polish
Section of the Secretariat of State.
At the time the appointment of the new Primate of
Poland was imminent. This was uppermost in the Holy Father’s mind and heart.
After a thorough consultation by the Bishops, Bishop Jozef Glemp was chosen.
Cardinal Franciszek Macharski arrived in Rome. So did Bishop Jozef Glemp.
On 6 July the Holy Father wrote a letter to the Church
in Poland concerning the new Primate’s appointment.
The Pope’s state of health had so improved that the
doctors began to think about the second operation, to close the colostomy.
However, most of the professors suggested delaying the operation in
consideration of the patient’s enfeebled condition. The Holy Father felt that the
operation should not be postponed. He wanted to leave the hospital completely
cured.
On 10 July, his condition began once again to
deteriorate, with progressive inflammation of the lungs. In the doctors’
opinion, these serious symptoms and complications were still being caused by
the presence of the cytomegalovirus. I must stress here the great dedication
and concern of the doctors of the Gemelli Polyclinic and of the Vatican. We are
particularly grateful to the nurses and Sisters of the Sacred Heart, faithful
handmaids of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
On 16 July, the day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the
illness took a decisive turn and a general improvement in his condition was
recorded. The Holy Father faced the daily problems with renewed vitality; he
began to work out the programme for the forthcoming Synod with Archbishop Jozef
Tomko and to follow the Curia’s work, every day receiving Cardinal Casaroli,
Archbishop Martinez and other heads of dicasteries. He once again turned his
attention to political events and particularly the situation in Poland.
On 20 July the would-be assassin’s trial began. The
matter was a sensitive one for the Holy Father and for the Apostolic See. The
Pope had forgiven him, but the instruments of Italian justice had to initiate
the procedures required by the law.
On 23 July the Holy Father took part in the medical
consultation during which he expressed his own point of view on the treatment
and asked the doctors to take it into account. He firmly insisted on having the
operation, so as to be able to return home fully functioning. The doctors
seemed embarrassed, but did not exclude the possibility of a second operation.
It was Prof. Crucitti in particular that persuaded the others that it was
appropriate to take the patient’s wishes into consideration.
The Holy Father was feeling better and better,
although his physical resistance was still weak. Despite the hospital
conditions, he worked without respite. His day began with the recitation of the
Little Office in Honour of Our Lady and Morning prayers and meditation; then
came the doctor’s visits, the recitation of the breviary, visits from
guests—official visits and those which had not been planned. Of course he also
met friends who arrived from Poland. The essential topics of the Church’s life
and the prominent issues in the various fields of culture and science
frequently recurred in his conversations.
In the evenings, the Holy Father concelebrated the
Eucharist. A small group of guests always took part. Towards the end of his
stay in the clinic, a crowd of pilgrims would wait outside the hospital: parish
and folklore groups, choirs and individuals. The Pope would greet them from his
window and impart his Apostolic Blessing to them.
On 31 July, the medical decision concerning the second
operation was to be made. After a heated discussion, the date was fixed for 5
August. The Holy Father himself chose the day dedicated to Our Lady of Snows.
The operation began at 7 a.m. and lasted an hour. Prof. Crucitti operated, assisted
by the other professors. It was successful. Surgery brought the Holy Father
true relief and allowed him a normal life. During the operation, his closest
co-workers were celebrating Mass in the hospital chapel.
On 6 August, the patient could already take a few
steps in his room. On that day, the Primate Jozef Glemp paid him a visit with
Archbishop Bronislaw Dabrowski. They concelebrated Mass for Paul VI on the
anniversary of his death.
In the days that followed, the Pope gradually
recovered and there were no further complications.
On 10 August, the doctors began to speak of his
discharge. The Holy Father was greeting the numerous pilgrims groups from his
hospital window more and more often. In addition to his concern for the whole
Church he was living intensely the situation in Poland, from which he was
receiving news of the military maneuvers, of the convocation of the plenum of
the party’s Central Committee.
On 13 August the doctors met and after the
consultation wrote the bulletin concerning the end of the Holy Father’s
hospital stay and his return home.
On the morning of 14 August, after prayers and
adoration, the Pope spoke to the patients in the hospital and took his leave of
the doctors and staff who had cared for him.
At the entrance of the Gemelli Polyclinic and in front
of the building a large crowd had gathered, including nunerous journalists. The
Holy Father said a last goodbye to the doctors and then returned to the Vatican
by car. After crossing St. Peter’s Square, he entered the basilica. In the
courtyard of St. Damasus, he told the Cardinals and Curia staff present: “I
paid a visit to St. Peter to thank him for deigning to let his Successor
survive. I visited the tombs of Paul VI and John Paul I, for there might well
have been another tomb beside them.”
The Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, 15
August, was the first day after the assassination attempt on which the Holy
Father could at last feel he had finished with medical and hospital treatment.
Tens of thousands of people flocked to St. Peter’s Square to take part in the
midday Angelus with him. That day marked the end of the great drama, during
which the Holy Father was able to have a unique experience of the goodness,
tender concern and protection of the Most Holy Mother. This conviction
motivated and still today motivates him. When he returned to St. Peter’s Square
to meet the faithful at the General Audience four months later, he thanked them
all for their prayers and confessed: “Again I have become indebted to the Blessed
Virgin and to all the Patron Saints. Could I forget that the event in St.
Peter’s Square took place on the day and at the hour when the first appearance
of the Mother of Christ to the poor little peasants has been remembered for
over 60 years at Fatima in Portugal? For, in everything that happened to me on
that very day, I felt that extraordinary motherly protection and care, which
turned out to be stronger than the deadly bullet” (General Audience, 7 October,
n. 6; L’Osservatore Romano [English edition], 12 October 1981, p. 3).
Gift and Mystery
I would say that the gift was the return: the Holy
Father’s miraculous return to life and health. One mystery remains—in the human
dimension—the attempt to kill him. In fact neither the trial nor the culprit’s
lengthy imprisonment has shed light on it. I witnessed the Pope’s visit to Ali
Agca in prison. The Pope had already publicly pardoned him in his very first
address after the attack. I did not hear the prisoner utter a single word to
ask forgiveness. He was only interested in the mystery of Fatima—troubled by
the force that had got the better of him. In the Year of the Great Jubilee, the
Holy Father sent a letter to the Italian President asking for Ali Agca’s
release: this request—it is well known—was accepted by President Carlo Azeglio
Ciampi. The Holy Father accepted the release of Ali Agca with relief. He had
several times received his mother and his relatives and had often asked the
prison chaplains about him.
The divine dimension of the mystery consists of this
dramatic event, which took a heavy toll on the Holy Father’s health and
strength, but at the same time was not without an effect on the content and
fruitfulness of his apostolic ministry in the Church and in the world. I recall
that in one conversation the Holy Father confessed: “This was a great grace of
God. I see in this a similarity with the Primate’s imprisonment. Except that
experience lasted three years, and this one . . . .”
In this case I do not think that it is an exaggeration
to apply the ancient saying: “Sanguis martyrum semen christianorum” (The blood
of martyrs is the seed of Christians). Perhaps this blood was needed on St.
Peter’s Square, on the site of the early Christians’ martyrdom. In this
context, four thoughts spring to my mind.
There is no doubt that the first fruit of that
bloodshed was the union of the entire Church in the great prayer for the Pope’s
recovery. The pilgrims who had come for the General Audience and an ever
increasing multitude of Romans prayed in St. Peter’s Square throughout the
night that followed the attack. On the following days, Masses were celebrated
and prayers offered for the Pope’s intentions in cathedrals, churches and
chapels all over the world. In this regard, the Holy Father himself said: “It
is difficult for me to think of all this without emotion, without deep
gratitude to everyone, to all those who gathered in prayer on the day of 13
May, and to all those who persevered in it for all this time… I am grateful to
Christ the Lord and to the Holy Spirit, who, through this event which took
place in St. Peter’s Square on 13 May at 5:17 p.m., inspired so many hearts to
common prayer.
“And thinking of this great prayer, I cannot forget
the words of the Acts of the Apostles, referring to Peter: ‘earnest prayer was
made to God by the Church’” (Acts 12:5) (General Audience, 7 October 1981;
L’Osservatore Romano [English edition], 12 October 1981, p. 3 ).
During those days, kind wishes also arrived from many
quarters which did not really have anything to do with the Church, from Heads
of State, from the representatives of international organizations and from
various political and social organizations across the world. It seems that the
sentiments expressed at that time have contributed to this day to forming their
opinion of the Holy Father as a moral authority in the world.
Concern for the Pope’s life and health was not only
expressed by the Catholic Church, but also by Communities of other Christian
denominations, and even other religions. I remember that the Secretariat for
Christian Unity received hundreds of telegrams from their representatives. From
Constantinople, a special envoy arrived from Patriarch Demetrius to express his
profound participation in the sufferings of the Bishop of Rome. Telegrams also
came from the Primate of the Anglican Communion and from the heads of many
Protestant communities. I am deeply convinced that the Pope’s suffering made an
enormous contribution to the work of Christian unity, to which he is so
dedicated.
I have already said that for that day, now a memorable
one, a large demonstration had been planned in Rome and sponsored by sectors
which had declared themselves to be pro-abortion. The demonstration was revoked
because of the attack. Nothing happens by chance in Divine Providence’s plans.
Perhaps there that innocent blood and that desperate struggle for life were
needed, to awaken in human consciences an awareness of life’s value and the
will to preserve it from its conception to its natural death. The fact that
both the Academy for life and the Institute for the Family at the Pontifical
Lateran University were created during those days seems to confirm this
insight. Independently of the effective state of laws and customs, with regard
to the matter of respect for life in contemporary society, it can be said that
on that day the commitment to the family of the Holy Father and the Church was
given a new impetus and an existential motivation.
Of course we could delve more deeply into the mystery
of the attack and the struggle for the life and safety of the Holy Father,
mentioning other results which, today, 20 years later, we can identify.
However, I am aware that its definitive meaning will remain hidden in the
inscrutable desires of Divine Providence. I also wish to express my deep
conviction that the blood poured out in St. Peter’s Square on 13 May, came to
fruition with the springtime of the Church in the Year 2000. I never stop
thanking God for this gift and for the mystery that he granted me to witness
with my own eyes. At the end of this account, I would like to cite the words of
Cardinal Wojtyła, from his poem Stanislaw: “If words do not convert, blood
will.”
