Stories about Saint John Paul II by Redzioch Wlodzimierz

Author:Redzioch, Wlodzimierz [Redzioch, Wlodzimierz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spiritual & Religion
ISBN: 9781681496641
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Published: 2015-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

V

Taking Care of the Pope

Egildo Biocca

“ON TOUR” WITH THE POPE

In 1978, Egildo Biocca was working in the Vatican Vigilance Corps (Corpo di Vigilanza, the name then for the gendarmerie of the Holy See). As a Vatican policeman, he saw Paul VI die that year and witnessed the election of John Paul I and his unexpected departure. Lastly, on October 16, he saw a third pontiff appear for the first time on the balcony of Saint Peter’s. And it was a historic event, perhaps even more so than the alternation of three popes in such a short time: after five centuries, the cardinals, in fact, had elected a non-Italian cardinal.

The first thing that impressed him about John Paul II was his strong voice; after the plaintive voice of Giovanni Montini and the bashful way in which Albino Luciani spoke, the words of the new Successor of Peter sounded powerful and reflected his physical strength, also.

Over the course of several days, it was discovered that John Paul II was an athletic man who loved the mountains and skiing. Then Biocca really started to like the pope, because having been born in the mountains, near the Gran Sasso in central Italy, he, too, was a skier and a great hiker. (It was no accident that he performed his military service in the Alps.)

Because of his knowledge of the mountains, his physical strength, and his talents as a skier, Biocca became one of the organizers of Pope Wojtyła’s private tours and his regular traveling companion.

Today he is retired and with great nostalgia relates the facts about these papal “escapades”.

When did you become involved in organizing the private trips of John Paul II?

The first two excursions were the only ones in which I did not participate, because as soon as our commander, Camillo Cibin, noticed that well-trained individuals were needed for this type of outing to the mountains, he turned to me.

From then on, I was involved in organizing all the private trips of the Holy Father.

How was an excursion of the pope organized?

My boss used to send me in advance to scout the areas that had been selected. Then I would write a report in which I indicated the places where, in my opinion, we could bring the pope.

After that, we would repeat the on-site investigation with Cibin. The commander was very demanding and tried to choose spots where there would be no passersby, but that was not always possible.

Lastly, Father Stanislaw called me to ask me where we were going. I always described several possibilities to him, but he, having the utmost respect for our evaluations, always ended by letting us choose the destination.

Did the excursions take place during the vacations, when the pope was based at Gastel Gandolfo, or at other times, too?

They happened throughout the year, departing from the Vatican, also. The preferred days were Tuesday and Thursday.

It is said that you considered only itineraries and places in the Abruzzo region.

We often went to the mountains in Abruzzo, because you could get there quickly on the expressway, but we also took trips to Tuscany and to the seashore.

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