John Paul the Great

Jan Paweł Wielki – translates as ‘John Paul the Great’

On October 1, 2013 my husband and I had the honor of visiting the liceum (high school) in Wadowice where Pope John Paul II studied and graduated. Our wonderful guide Piotr (left) had made an appointment for us to meet with the Dyrektor of the school, so that I could see if there were records verifying whether Henry really did go to high school with the Pope or not. 

The school has added on a brand new wing they call the ‘Pope Room’ that has all the school records, records of teachers and anything else related to John Paul II that might be connected to the school. The room is the best and newest room of the school, with light windows, new desks, video equipment and of course a wall sized photo. In fact after I sent a small donation at Christmas, I received the nicest thank you note from Dyrektor Janina Turek explaining the put the funds towards a Blu-Ray player.

In the picture above left to right is our wonderful guide Piotr, myself and my husband Rick. The beautiful white church pictured is the church he attended and served as an altar boy. He didn’t have to walk far to church – his apartment building was next door to the church.  There are two photos of the church – the full photo – and the one showing his apartment building directly to the right of it. It was closed in October, in preparation for reopening as a museum dedicated to him.  The museum opened on April 9, 2014.

 

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Tags: About Katrina, Notable Poles, Poland

1 Comment.

  • The new museum is awesome. It is interactive and filled with interesting information and artifacts. You can take a guided tour, which has the advantage of some very useful commentary by one of the Sisters who administer the museum, and the disadvantage that it moves at a very brisk pace. Or, you can explore on your own and linger at any of the many exhibits that particularly interest you. I think the ideal is take the guided tour, then return on your own. This is the 3rd iteration of the Museum, and by far the bast. The only disappointment is that several of his most personal items are no longer there, because he is now a canonized Saint, so they become 1st and 2nd class relics.

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