By Blake Thamer
The Portland group left Rome fairly early in the morning to catch our flight to Krakow, Poland. We had a little bit of extra time at the airport and it was very nice to pray morning prayer all together there. As we landed, my first impressions of Krakow were positive. After we dropped off our things at our rooms, we got some excellent food at a little café.
I was blessed to be the lector for our Mass in the chapel where Pope St. John Paul II was ordained a priest. The chapel was a part of the Palace of the Bishops of Krakow where Pope St. John Paul II was secretly a seminarian during the communist era in Poland. I thought about how grateful I should be that priestly formation can be so open now. Communism is so aggressively atheistic that all formation and ordination of priests was illegal. There are still struggles in seminary, but not much compares to that. For me, entering seminary was as easy as entering a college, but with a longer application and ore
discernment.
Right after that, we went across the street to the impressive St. Francis Basilica, where Pope St. John Paul II often prayed. The art was very detailed with simple materials. I especially liked some of the sculptures. There was a Marian side altar that had a very impressive decorative canopy and a wonderful statue as well. I thought that the beauty of Mary and her place in the church really exemplified what she does for me; drawing my eye and then pointing me to her Son. We ended the day with dinner together and enjoyed wonderful Polish cuisine.
Day 2 – Mass in the Chapel where JPII was ordained a priest.