The Holy Father was presenting gifts to secretaries on their name days. On this day we were able to invite our colleagues to dinner with the Holy Father. We usually invited priests, up to twelve people. It was a great honor for me, for my colleagues as well. I always laughed that it was me who gave them a gift on my own name day. And, what a gift! They were coming to the guest room; the Holy Father greeted them and invited them to dinner. At the table, he always asked where they were from, what they were doing. Everyone could tell a little bit about themselves, and then, after these conversations, the Holy Father was saying: "Well, Mieciu, you have good friends! It is worth to stick to them!" They were very pleased. They were happy, me too. It was such a beautiful gift from the Holy Father ...
- Always the same colleagues came?
- Those closest one usually were the same, but I tried to invite others on this occasion to have the chance and happiness to stay with the Holy Father for a while.
But there were other gifts. For example, a copy of John Paul II's portrait with the date: January 1, 2005 and the dedication: "Mietkowi for his name day – John Paul II". They usually got books with dedication or messaggio for the New Year. Sometimes, there was another gift or encyclical with a signature.
With the permission of Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki –“He liked Tuesdays the most”
M Publishing House, Krakow 2008
