A member of John Paul II's office of Liturgical Celebrations recently reflected on the late Pontiff's death.
Msgr. Konrad Krajewski explained that Cardinal Stanislao Dziwisz, who
was Pope Wojtyla’s personal secretary for 40 years, broke the silence
at the time of the Pope’s death.
“We were kneeling around John Paul II’s bed. … The soft light of the
lamp illuminated the wall, but you could see him well. Later the
archbishop rose. He turned the lights on the room and interrupted the
silence of John Paul II’s death,” Msgr. Krajewski said in an April 2
L’Osservatore Romano article.
John Paul II died on April 2, 2005.
“In a moving but surprisingly firm voice, with his typical mountain
accent, dragging out certain syllables, he began to sing: ‘We praise
you, God. We proclaim you, Lord.’ It seemed like a voice from heaven. We
all looked with wonder at Don Stanislao. And the light followed the
hymn and the verses continued: ‘Oh eternal Father, all the earth adores
you…’ And gave assurance to each of us,” Msgr. Krajewski said.
“Thus we found ourselves before a totally distinct reality, we
thought. John Paul II has died. That means now he lives forever,” he
said.
Despite their sadness, Msgr. Krajewski continued, they continued to
sing. “With each word our voices became stronger and more confident. The
hymn proclaimed: ‘Victor over death, you have opened the Kingdom of
Heaven to those who believe.’ Thus, singing the Te Deum, we glorified
God, who was visible and recognizable in the person of the Pope.”
“This is also the experience of all who encountered him during his
pontificate. Whoever came into contact with John Paul II encountered
Jesus, whom the Pope showed with his entire being.”
“One immediately noticed that he was a person overflowing with God.”
During the last years of his life, Msgr. Krajewski said, “by just looking at him you could see the presence of God.”
“It was enough to make you go to confession, not only because of your sins, but for not being holy like him.”
On April 2, 2005, when he left the papal apartment at the apostolic
palace, Msgr. Krajewski said he saw “a multitude of people walking
silently in devotion. The world had closed down, got on its knees and
cried.”
“There were those who cried only because a beloved person was gone,
and later they went back to their homes like they came. And there also
those who united the tears on the outside with those on the inside and
realized that they were not right before the Lord. Those were blessed
tears: they were the beginning of the miracle of conversion,” Msgr.
Krajewski said.
He noted that even today, many of those who work at St. Peter’s and
at the various Vatican offices spend a moment of prayer before John Paul
II’s tomb. They touch the tombstone with a reverent kiss.
“This happens
every day,” he said.
“If I had to say what the most important thing is in the life of
priest and in each of our lives, looking at him I would say: to not
obscure God with ourselves, but rather, to show him and make ourselves a
visible sign of his presence. Nobody has seen God, but John Paul II
made him visible through his life,” Msgr. Krajewski said.