Krakow, Poland – October 2024 – As is the case every year, on the Sunday before the election of Karol Wojtyła as Pope (16 October 1978), Pope John Paul II Day is celebrated throughout Poland and in Polish communities abroad. Poles gather to participate in liturgies, various services, prayer vigils, meditations and conferences dedicated to the Saintly Pope. This year's 24th Day of Pope John Paul II was celebrated on 13 October, with the motto: "The Gospel of old age and suffering", organised, as always, by the "Opera del Nuovo Millennio" Foundation with two main objectives: to support talented and destitute young people by raising funds for scholarships; and to promote the teachings of Pope John Paul II. As is the case every year, the Salesians and the faithful from the parish of St Stanislaus Kostka and from the Salesian Seminary (WSDTS) in Krakow and from Salesian presences not only of the country, took part on 12 October in the twentieth edition of the "Pilgrimage in the footsteps of Karol Wojtyła the worker" to the Shrine of St John Paul II in Krakow-Łagiewniki. Starting in the church of St Stanislaus Kostka, the pilgrimage route arrived in front of the house of the Servant of God Jan Tyranowski, Karol Wojtyła's mentor, at the house where Karol Wojtyła lived since 1938, to reach the quarry at Zakrzówek, where Karol Wojtyła worked, to participate in the Via Crucis. Moving on, they arrived at the Shrine of Saint John Paul II, where the Eucharist was celebrated, presided over by Fr Dariusz Bartocha, SDB, Secretary General of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men's Religious Institutes and new Delegate for Social Communication of the PLS Province.

Photo: WSDTS Krakow