Crowds in the streets, overnight vigils in churches, hundreds of candles lit in places associated with John Paul II, closed stores, clubs, and offices, and joint prayers among fans of rival sports teams. The days leading up to the Polish pope’s death and those immediately following were described as “national retreats.” Twenty years ago—on April 2, 2005, at 9:37 p.m., on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday—John Paul II died in the Vatican.
The pope was admitted to the Gemelli Polyclinic on February 1, 2005, after experiencing respiratory failure caused by laryngitis and tracheitis. Although he briefly returned to the Vatican, he was no longer able to preside over Easter celebrations. The pope’s health deteriorated rapidly again on March 31.
A national reflection
In Poland, the pope’s final days were accompanied by enormous emotion. For many days, the faithful spontaneously gathered in churches and at places John Paul II had visited during his pilgrimages.
In the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima in Krzeptówki, Zakopane—which was built as a votive offering of thanks for saving the pope’s life after the 1981 assassination attempt—Highlanders (Górale) and tourists prayed all night from March 31 to April 1. Crowds of the faithful also gathered in the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki and in St. Mary’s Basilica, under the window of the Archbishop’s Palace in Krakow (where John Paul II used to appear during his visits to his homeland), and in the Basilica of the Offering of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Wadowice—the pope’s hometown.
On April 1, a large canvas composition featuring Karol Wojtyła at various stages of his life was hung on the Wadowice Town Hall building.
Starting on March 31, a round-the-clock prayer vigil took place at the Jasna Góra Sanctuary. Its gates were open to the faithful all day and night. In Warsaw, thousands of people prayed for John Paul II at the academic church of St. Anne. Nighttime vigils were also held in churches in Katowice, Piekary Śląskie, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Gdańsk, Łódź, Lublin, and other cities across Poland.
Members of other faiths also prayed for John Paul II. In Łódź, representatives of the Jewish community joined prayers for the pope’s health at the basilica. Iwona Alkhalayla, the chairperson of the Muslim League in Poland, confirmed that Polish Muslims also prayed for the pope’s health in their mosques.
The news no one wanted to hear
On April 1, when the world’s media mistakenly reported the death of the head of the Church, the match between Lech Poznań and Pogoń Szczecin in Poznań was stopped. Players from both teams formed a circle, put their arms around each other, and prayed together. Many fans began clapping and spontaneously chanting, “Thank you.” Then everyone sang the Polish national anthem.
Every media outlet in the country reported the pope’s condition hour by hour. Because of John Paul II’s declining health, numerous cultural, entertainment, sports, and political events were canceled. The Mayor of Warsaw, Lech Kaczyński, ordered the cancellation of performances and entertainment events in city-run theaters and cultural institutions. Krakow Mayor Jacek Majchrowski made a similar appeal. Events were canceled in Poznań, Wrocław, Bydgoszcz, Toruń, Szczecin, Rzeszów, Gdańsk, Lublin, and Częstochowa.
Upon the news of John Paul II’s death at 9:37 p.m. on April 2, thousands of people across Poland went out into the streets. The faithful spontaneously gathered in churches for joint prayers, Masses, and vigils. In places associated with John Paul II—such as the “pope’s window” on Franciszkańska Street in Krakow or St. Anne’s Academic Church in Warsaw, and in front of monuments dedicated to John Paul II—people lit candles, placed flowers, and football fans hung their scarves.
Many people placed lit candles in their windows, and church bells rang out. Over Krakow, the Sigismund Bell (Dzwon Zygmunta) resounded, rung by bell-ringers from the Wawel Cathedral. Throughout the country, papal, national, and municipal flags were displayed draped in black crepe.
Flags—the national one as well as those of NATO and the EU—were lowered in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. The national government declared a period of national mourning until the pope’s funeral.
Hundreds of Masses
Starting early on April 3, numerous pilgrims arrived at Jasna Góra to pray for John Paul II. In the sanctuary and on the fields in front of the monastery, thousands of the faithful formed a “From life to life” chain at noon. Holding hands, they commended the Holy Father to Mary.
Hundreds of Masses were celebrated for the late John Paul II. On April 3, approximately 150,000 faithful attended Mass on Piłsudski Square in Warsaw. Another Mass, celebrated in the same place on April 5 with the participation of the highest state authorities, drew as many as 250,000 people. Many of the faithful carried banners that read, “You were looking for us, and we came to you—thank you for that,” “Totus Tuus,” and “Forever in our memory, Our Father.”
A Mass in Łagiewniki for the deceased pope was attended by 100,000 faithful, and about 70,000 people prayed at Jasna Góra.
On internet forums devoted to Krakow’s rival football clubs—Cracovia, Wisła, and Hutnik—hundreds of appeals appeared to end the “holy war” among the fans. On April 4, a so-called “Mass of reconciliation” was held at the Cracovia stadium, attended by about 25,000 fans of Cracovia, Hutnik, and Wisła. At the end of the Mass, the entire stadium began chanting, “Reconciliation for the pope.”
In many Polish cities, “white marches” were held to commemorate John Paul II. The first took place in Łódź on April 4, with more than 100,000 participants. The largest march took place in Krakow and gathered over a million people.
Meanwhile, in Poznań, Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice, and Łódź, Marches for the Pope were held, drawing thousands of school and university students. Asked who organized them, participants said they had learned about the initiative via the Gadu-Gadu messenger or by SMS. In Krakow, more than 150,000 people took part in the march; in Poznań, about 25,000; in Łódź, tens of thousands. In Katowice, several thousand young people met in the central square and marched with candles in their hands through the city’s streets to the cathedral.
“In the mountains, one feels closer to God”
Karol Wojtyła hiked many times in the Żywiec Beskids, the Mały (Small) and Sądecki Beskids, the Gorce Mountains, the Pieniny, the Lower Beskids, the Bieszczady, and the Sudetes. The Tatra Mountains were closest to his heart. Therefore, after the pope’s death, students from the Zakopane School of Artistic Weaving organized a pilgrimage to the Chochołowska Valley in the Tatras, one of Karol Wojtyła’s favorite places. One day earlier, a group of scouts from Rzeszów climbed Tarnica, the highest peak in the Bieszczady Mountains, where they placed a papal flag.
The final farewell
Buses with pilgrims departed from various Polish cities for the funeral of John Paul II, which took place in the Vatican on April 8. In the main hall of Warsaw’s Central Station, there was a gigantic line of people wanting to buy tickets for special trains to Rome.
For most Poles, the day of the funeral was a day off work. The streets were almost deserted, and traffic on national and urban roads decreased significantly.
The faithful could watch the funeral ceremonies on large screens set up in main squares, near city offices, and in market squares. During that time, stores, shopping centers, as well as state and provincial offices, courts, and prosecutor’s offices were closed.
Thousands of people watched the funeral broadcast on large screens set up in Piłsudski Square and Castle Square in Warsaw, at the Błonia meadows in Krakow, in the Main Square in Wadowice, near the “pope’s window” at the Krakow Metropolitan Curia, and at the foot of the monastery on Jasna Góra. After the broadcast ended, the faithful participated in Masses celebrated by local bishops.
In the evening, at the hour of the pope’s death—9:37 p.m.—lights were turned off for five minutes in many homes across the country. Church bells, sirens, and horns sounded. At the same time, candles burned in places especially connected to the pope.
On the day of John Paul II’s funeral, all nationwide television stations and the four programs of Polish Radio broadcast the funeral ceremonies in full. Music stations—such as MTV Polska and VIVA Polska—played only calm music from the beginning of the mourning period until the day of the funeral.
The profound emotion triggered by the death of John Paul II lasted many days, even weeks. Many social commentators described it as “national retreats” or “the pope’s final encyclical.”