Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow and for over three
decades private secretary to Karol Wojtyla, the first Polish Pope, has
released previously unseen photographs of the late pontiff.
The
images show the late pontiff, due to be beatified on 1 May - a major
step towards sainthood - relaxing during trips in the Polish
countryside.
“We have never released these pictures to anyone,” said Cardinal Dziwisz in an interview with Polish television channel TVP.
“I think that people will accept them positively,” he added.
The
pictures show the pontiff both in civilian clothes and religious robes,
enjoying walks and moments of reflection in the mountains.
Pope
John Paul II was well known for his love of nature. As a young priest,
he was a keen canoeist and skier, taking groups of students on hiking
trips in the mountains.
The newly released pictures are from a later period, after Wojtyla had already been elected to the papacy.
Cardinal
Dziwisz remembers how the Pope always liked to engage strangers in
friendly conversations on these walks. The Cardinal stressed his easy
manner and love of the great outdoors.
“We never avoided people,” Dziwisz remembers, noting that this easygoing manner comes across in the pictures.