Parish of Raheny

“Walking in the Footsteps of Pope John Paul II”

Our group of 40 people gathered at the vigil Mass in Raheny on Saturday 22 September 2007 to begin our pilgrimage to Poland the homeland of Pope John Paul II. The Mass that evening was said by our pilgrimage leader Fr. Gerry Moore. Our group set off in great spirit on our pilgrimage.

It was an early rise the following Sunday morning to get to our next meeting spot in Dublin Airport to board our Aer Lingus flight to Krakow. The flight took about 2 hours and as we flew over Poland what was particularly noticeable was the distinctive layout of the fields below. These were not the haphazard shapes and sizes of home but were rather long strips of land each one side by side facing onto a road and stretching back. Krakow Airport is 11 km from the city centre and we were met there by our tour guide Andrew who had arranged a bus to take us and our luggage to our hotel – the Hotel Secesja. Andrew, a local man, proved to be a super guide and took great care of all of us.

Krakow is Poland’s second largest and one of its oldest cities famous as a centre of education and culture. In more recent times it is renowned for its association with Karol Wojtyla who in 1978, as the then Archbishop of Krakow, was elected Pope John Paul II the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Pope John Paul II served as Pope for over 25 years until his death on 2 April 2005. He was the second longest serving Pope after Pope Pius IX (1846-1878). The purpose of our pilgrimage was to pray at the places in Poland which were important in the Pope’s life.

It was inspiring to see the large number of young priests and nuns.

Group of Raheny Pilgrims in Poland

Our hotel was located on Paulinska Street in the old city, near the Kazimierz district, an area which is steeped in Jewish history and culture. The hotel was opposite St. Catherine’s Church of the Augustinian order, which was surrounded by high ancient walls which added to the tranquil and peaceful atmosphere of the surrounding area. The group attended Mass here and received a friendly welcome from parishioners. A short stroll away were the banks of the Vistula River along which was the quarry where Karol Wojtyla worked during the Nazi occupation of Poland during World War II. Also nearby is Wawel Castle and the Barbican and the medieval city centre.

The following eight days would prove to be a great experience. Among the places which we saw were

Wadowice – the birthplace of Pope John Paul II where we visited the Wojtyla family home which is now a museum. Mass was celebrated in the beautifully decorated local church, St. Mary’s Basilica, where the Pope was baptized and served as an altar boy. It was also in Wadowice we were tipped off to one of the young Karol Wojtyla’s favourite treats, one which apparently lasted thoughout his life – a cream and puff pastry cake known as a “Kremowka” which is now known in Poland as the “Papal Cream Cake”. These papal treats proved to be a big hit among Raheny people also.

St. Patrick – Relating a story of him praying to calm a storm while on a sea voyage St. Fredegand a 6th century Augustinian monk and son of an Irish King — when he died the coffin of a young girl was placed on his tomb. Subsequently she came back to life and asked to be buried somewhere else as she felt she was not worthy to be buried beside a saint

Krakow – We also had a walking tour of Krakow and visited the Jagiellonian University founded in the 14th century which is the oldest university in Poland and one of the oldest in the world. It was here that Pope John Paul II attended to study philosophy and languages and later taught ethics. It is very easy to tell the time, day or night, in Krakow as each hour is marked by a trumpet signal, known as the hejnal, from the spire of St. Mary’s Basilica situated in the town square which is a beautiful ornate church. We also visited the Church of Corpus Christi in Kazimierz which had medieval wall panels which included paintings of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland, another of Dublin’s Patron St. Laurence O’Toole relating a story of him praying to calm a storm while on a sea voyage and also one of a St Fredegand, a 6th century Augustinian monk and son of an Irish King, when he died. See story above.

The Kazimierz area is where much of the film Schindler’s List was filmed. Many of the scenes were remembered as we walked though this old Jewish quarter. Among the famous names associated with Kazimierz is that of Helena Rubenstein who was born here in 1870 -she is recognized as the first self-made female millionaire. We also had the opportunity to visit the historic Wawel Castle and Cathedral with its royal connections and which overlook the city. Each evening in Krakow there are classical recitals held in the city’s churches and at music venues, with piano recitals of Poland’s own Chopin being a great favourite. Another place which proved very popular with Rahenyites was the Wedel chocolate and ice cream emporium in the Market Square where lovely treats were to be had to keep the energy levels up for our busy days of travelling.

St. Faustina – On the outskirts of Krakow, in the district of the Lagiewniki, is the Divine Mercy Basilica where is found the resting place of Saint Faustina Kowalska. We had a most inspiring talk given to us by a young novice nun followed by Mass in the St. Faustina chapel. We also had some quiet time for meditation and prayer here. It was such a tranquil and peaceful place that one or two lost track of time getting back to the bus.

Ludzmierz – On our way to Zacopane we stopped at Ludzmierz to visit at the church of Our Lady also known as Our Lady of the Sceptre. The church’s main altar holds the statue to Our Lady of Ludzmierz and the shrine has been visited by pilgrims from the Middle Ages. We were told here of the story in 1963 when during the ceremony of the crowning of the statue by Cardinal Wyszynski, which was attended by the then Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, the sceptre which is held in the hands of the statue of Our Lady, accidently fell but was saved when caught by Archbishop Wojtyla. This was seen as a prophecy of his future selection as Pope.

Zacopane and the Tatra Mountains – Zacopane is the main town in this mountainous area which is popular among Polish people for winter sports. The town is set in an idyllic area at the foot of the Tatra Mountains which were covered in a dusting of snow during our trip. We walked along the pedestrianised Krupowki Street famous for as a shopping area and we also visited the local open market where great bargains were to be had. Our timetable allowed us to take the cable train from the town up Gubalowka Hill which afforded even greater views of the Mountains and surrounding area. The Hill is also a good place for coffee shops and boasts a very fast gravity sleigh ride which was taken by some of the more thrill-seeking members of the group. On the way back to Krakow our guide brought us by the famous “Chapel on the Water” at Ojcow which was built in defiance of an ancient edict that churches should not be built on land.

Auchwitz and Birkenau – our visit to the concentration and extermination camp was shocking and sad. Some of our group were in tears, and silence was the order of the day as each person thought on what was seen and on what was related to us by our guide. We visited the cell of St. Maximillian Kolbe the Franciscan priest who volunteered to die in place of a stranger. One other aspect of hope in this terrible place was seeing the large groups of Israeli teenagers carrying their national flag along the train tracks and around the barrack huts of the camp.

Wieliczka Salt Mine – was built in the 13th century and produced table salt until the early 2000’s. We were taken down the 1,000 feet deep mine shaft in a fast moving lift accompanied by our guide, Pawel who greeted us with a “Dia ‘s Mhuire dhuit – he had worked in Cork for a few years. The mine contains a number of vast chambers, many of which are chapels, and statues, many of which are religious, which were carved by the miners over the years.

Our Lady of Czestochowa (Chestokova) – is a revered icon of the Virgin Mary found at the Jasna Gora monastery in Czestochowa. The shrine is also called the Black Madonna and Our Lady Queen of Poland. On the day we were there there were bus loads of pilgrims travelling from all over Poland and beyond. There were huge crowds of pilgrims attending Masses, outdoor confessions and praying at the shrine which is a popular place for marriage ceremonies. Indeed one or two of our group lost their way here but in the end got back to the bus. It was like Knock on a very busy day but all compacted into a smaller area in older and smaller buildings. Another link with home was the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa which is in the Sacred Heart side-chapel in Raheny. We had Mass in a quiet chapel in the Monastery which looked out on a beautiful garden where song birds gave full and sweet sound.

The pilgrimage was without doubt a great experience made all the more special by the hard work of Fr. Gerry in setting a challenging but well-organised and prayerful trip. The welcome we received from the Polish people that we met was second to none and this added greatly to making the pilgrimage a success. Each morning we got off to a great start with morning prayer. Our fellow parishioners at home were not forgotten with prayers being said at each Mass and also at each Mass the Raheny Parish Book of Petitions was placed on the altar. As we returned home from Krakow on 30 September 2007 we were a tired but happy group of people with a deeper understanding of the life of Pope John Paul II, his homeland and its people.

Tadgh and Anita Delaney