Of so very many personal meetings with Saint John Paul II, my most memorable took place in the interior courtyard at Castel Gondolfo. Without any tickets for the audience, and with only minutes to go, I convinced the Swiss Guard out front that John Paul would surely like to meet with a friend of mine, an ex-prostitute who was now assisting women in getting out of that life.
I feel kind of badly to this day, as the Swiss Guard, bless their hearts, went inside and extracted two priests who had come all the way from Poland for this “private” audience. We took their places. The ex-prostitute had a Polish heritage. At the end of the audience when those of us who were there were meeting personally with Pope John Paul, she exclaimed, “MY Holy Father!” Pope John Paul was most gracious. :-)
As a side note, can you guess what that volume is under my arm? Pope John Paul signed it for me…
Now after reading the next post, it may be a related to Jackass of the Hour, which I have been thinking of re-reading . I need to finish that post when I find time. AMDG Mildred
What a beautiful memory for you recalled in that photo. His fatherliness and interest in his priest-son shows. Might that volume under your arm be your thesis?
His Wednesday Audiences published by his Institute on Marriage and the Family
Those Wednesday audiences are precious since we haven’t heard their like since, bringing to mind Sister Lucia’s letter to Cardinal Caffarra stating that the decisive battle we are entering into – that between the Kingdom of God and Satan – will be over marriage and the family.