After getting a wonderful night's sleep, we woke up and began our last day, Day 13, in Poland. We were free to roam about the city and do what we wanted. I decided to go to the Shrine of John Paul II with a few others.
We woke up early to get on the tram. Since WYD was officially over, the city was no longer shut down; all the shops were opened, and the streets were filled with regular Krakowians instead of pilgrim after pilgrim. Many of the pilgrims left the previous night, since WYD ended. So we got on the tram, and it was weird, because it was full of people going to work, and actually using it as a form of regular transportation.
We arrived at the end of the tram line, and walked to the Shrine. From the outside, one could see multiple buildings, none bigger than the huge shrine itself, with a tower to go right alongside it. (At this point, it has been over a month since I was there, so I cannot really recall everything) When you first walked into the Shrine, you are immediately reminded of Divine Mercy Shrine (which was less than a kilometer away) because of the modern architecture, instead of the Gothic forms of many churches in Poland. This Shrine was recently completed just a few years ago.
With tall walls in a round shape, the inside of the building was very moving. Huge murals covered every inch of the walls, with scenes of the early Church and epic Biblical Stories depicted through colored shards of glass. They were intricately, vivid, yet still had a simple eloquence about them.
On the side, as in many other churches, there were smaller altars, to the Black Madonna, John Paul II himself, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady of Fatima, and so on. At the altar of Our Lady of Fatima, the cassock that JPII was wearing when he got shot was on display. This was a very moving display, and was heartbreaking on a certain level. Blood stained the pure white cassock. Some parts just had drops of blood, but the bottom of the right side, a huge bloodstain covered the majority of the side. Just two days before, we saw a reenactment of JPII forgiving the man who shot him, and it was not until viewing the actual cassock that everything suddenly became real. A man attempted to murder the Holy Father, there are bloodstains to prove it, yet he lived, and forgave the man, and JPII is now a Saint to prove that the merciful love of the Father overcomes all.
After viewing this, I looked to the right, and noticed a staircase going down below the Shrine, but no one was going down. But I am me, and I went down them. This was a true hidden gem. Sr. Nina and I walked down a hallway, to a smaller circular room with an altar that contained a relic of JPII, with paintings that depicted JPII in different religious aspects of his life. Around that, in a hallway that went in a circle around the altar, were many more smaller altars that were tributed to different Saints and Holy Figures. In one room, the original tomb stone of John Paul II laid on the ground, with a relic of JPII engraved in it. (He had to change tomb stones when they renamed him a Saint).
After this, Sr. Nina, and Allie, Rainey, and me went to what used to be the Jewish ghetto. We saw the original factory that Oskar Schindler (Schindler's List) opened, where he saved many Jews from suffering in the Holocaust. After that, we ate at one of the oldest restaurants in the area; it survived the raids of the Germans. The food was fantastic, and served as our last authentic Polish meal.
After this, we explored the area, and came across a memorial for the Jews killed in their own ghetto during the Holocaust, where the Germans would line them up and kill them. It was heartbreaking to stand on the street where this happened. We explored some more, and found some remaining excerpts of the Ghetto Wall. One remaining piece was actually the wall to a Pre-School.
We met back at the hostel for 4, and walked to a church that was hidden in the middle of an alleyway, and we had our last mass in Krakow. Afterwards, we had another hour or so to do our final shopping and Lody stops. Then we went back to the hostel, and got our stuff. The bus was supposed to arrive at 10 PM to bring us back to Berlin, but the bus didn't arrive until 11, which means we were stuck on the streets of Krakow with all of our baggage for an hour.
We got on the bus, and that ended our last day in Poland, Day 13.
Nicholas Scalfano
We woke up early to get on the tram. Since WYD was officially over, the city was no longer shut down; all the shops were opened, and the streets were filled with regular Krakowians instead of pilgrim after pilgrim. Many of the pilgrims left the previous night, since WYD ended. So we got on the tram, and it was weird, because it was full of people going to work, and actually using it as a form of regular transportation.
We arrived at the end of the tram line, and walked to the Shrine. From the outside, one could see multiple buildings, none bigger than the huge shrine itself, with a tower to go right alongside it. (At this point, it has been over a month since I was there, so I cannot really recall everything) When you first walked into the Shrine, you are immediately reminded of Divine Mercy Shrine (which was less than a kilometer away) because of the modern architecture, instead of the Gothic forms of many churches in Poland. This Shrine was recently completed just a few years ago.
With tall walls in a round shape, the inside of the building was very moving. Huge murals covered every inch of the walls, with scenes of the early Church and epic Biblical Stories depicted through colored shards of glass. They were intricately, vivid, yet still had a simple eloquence about them.
On the side, as in many other churches, there were smaller altars, to the Black Madonna, John Paul II himself, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady of Fatima, and so on. At the altar of Our Lady of Fatima, the cassock that JPII was wearing when he got shot was on display. This was a very moving display, and was heartbreaking on a certain level. Blood stained the pure white cassock. Some parts just had drops of blood, but the bottom of the right side, a huge bloodstain covered the majority of the side. Just two days before, we saw a reenactment of JPII forgiving the man who shot him, and it was not until viewing the actual cassock that everything suddenly became real. A man attempted to murder the Holy Father, there are bloodstains to prove it, yet he lived, and forgave the man, and JPII is now a Saint to prove that the merciful love of the Father overcomes all.
After viewing this, I looked to the right, and noticed a staircase going down below the Shrine, but no one was going down. But I am me, and I went down them. This was a true hidden gem. Sr. Nina and I walked down a hallway, to a smaller circular room with an altar that contained a relic of JPII, with paintings that depicted JPII in different religious aspects of his life. Around that, in a hallway that went in a circle around the altar, were many more smaller altars that were tributed to different Saints and Holy Figures. In one room, the original tomb stone of John Paul II laid on the ground, with a relic of JPII engraved in it. (He had to change tomb stones when they renamed him a Saint).
After this, Sr. Nina, and Allie, Rainey, and me went to what used to be the Jewish ghetto. We saw the original factory that Oskar Schindler (Schindler's List) opened, where he saved many Jews from suffering in the Holocaust. After that, we ate at one of the oldest restaurants in the area; it survived the raids of the Germans. The food was fantastic, and served as our last authentic Polish meal.
After this, we explored the area, and came across a memorial for the Jews killed in their own ghetto during the Holocaust, where the Germans would line them up and kill them. It was heartbreaking to stand on the street where this happened. We explored some more, and found some remaining excerpts of the Ghetto Wall. One remaining piece was actually the wall to a Pre-School.
We met back at the hostel for 4, and walked to a church that was hidden in the middle of an alleyway, and we had our last mass in Krakow. Afterwards, we had another hour or so to do our final shopping and Lody stops. Then we went back to the hostel, and got our stuff. The bus was supposed to arrive at 10 PM to bring us back to Berlin, but the bus didn't arrive until 11, which means we were stuck on the streets of Krakow with all of our baggage for an hour.
We got on the bus, and that ended our last day in Poland, Day 13.
Nicholas Scalfano
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