(ANS – Krakow) – On 11 October, many young people, adults, men and women religious of the parish of St. Stanislaus Kostka of Dębniki and young people from other Salesian parishes and schools  joined in ​​a pilgrimage of thanksgiving for the canonization of Pope John Paul II.

This Tenth Pilgrimage in the footsteps of Karol Wojtyła followed the road he travelled daily during the Second World War from Dębnik to the Solvay stone quarries where he worked from 1938 to 1944. The pilgrimage started at the Salesian church of St. Stanislaus Kostka, where the young Wojtyla often prayed before the image of Mary Help of Christians. It was here he grew in his resolve to devote himself totally to the service of the Lord and his Church. In February 1940 he met the Servant of God, Jan Tyranowski, who used to take part here in religious gatherings of young people organized by the Salesians. In this church, on 3 November 1946, he celebrated one of his first Masses as a priest in the presence of some of the faithful.

In fact, during his visit to Poland, on 17 August 2002, John Paul himself stopped in front of the church of Dębniki, where there is an historic picture of Mary Help of Christians, and publicly acknowledged: "I always remember those Salesians who were deported from this parish to the concentration camp ... I also remember the ‘living Rosary’ of Jan Tyranowski ... ".

The pilgrims then left for the John Paul II Centre, the goal of their pilgrimage. In the course of the morning, after a short prayer and the granting of scholarships to some students of Salesian schools, they visited the six stations, all the time alternating hymns and prayers.  They reached the John Paul II Centre at approximately 2.00 p.m. and attended the solemn Eucharist presided over by the Provincial of Krakow, Fr Dariusz Bartocha. The pilgrimage was also an opportunity for the whole Krakow Province to thank God for the canonization of John Paul II, proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis on 27 April 2014.

In his homily, the Provincial, referring to the six years Wojtyła spent in Dębniki, said, "These years shaped the life of Karol Wojtyla in a decisive way. Here, in Dębniki, he came to a very important decision. Here, after the death of his father, Karol met the men who helped him. Fr Karol Wojtyla celebrated his first Mass in the Crypt of Saint Leonard in Wawel, and then, a few days later, here in this Church, his first Mass in the presence of neighbours and friends."

The pilgrimage ended with the recital of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. The John Paul II Centre is located very close to the Shrine of Divine Mercy, which he visited twice, in 1997 and 2002.

Published 16/10/2014