Poland lauds and mourns Pope Francis

Next Pope should blend legacies of JPII. Benedict & Francis: Cardinal Nycz

Poland lauds and mourns Pope Francis. 

By Robert Strybel, Warsaw Correspondent

WARSAW – Soon after word of Pope Francis’ “return to the House of the Father” had been announced, church bells tolled in Poland and across much of today’s world. President Andrzej Duda called the first-ever pope from a non-European homeland “a Great Apostle of Mercy,” proclaimed a Polish National Day of Mourning to coincide with his funeral and said he and the First Lady would attend.

The Polish media referred to the last three popes as representing soul, (JP2), intellect (Benedict XVI) and heart (Francis), emphasizing that each had enriched Catholicism with his own unique gift. They extolled Francis’ warmth, sensitivity, inclusivity, rejection of Vatican splendor and identification with the common man as an orientation whose time had come. Also, as the only way of reaching out to today’s younger generation.

Former Warsaw Archbishop, Kazimierz Nycz, who will vote at the forthcoming Conclave, said the Church needed a “creative continuer,” and and predicted that the College of Cardinals would elect a pope who would “advance Francis’ irreversible legacy while drawing inspiration from the papacies of Benedict XVI and Polish-born John Paul II.”

Francis had visited Poland only once – in 2016 to attend World Youth Days, an annual tradition pioneered by the Polish Pontiff. However, despite their obviously different emphasis, the two Popes had shared a lot in common. Both had gone on to their eternal reward at Easter, Christendom’s central liturgical celebration.

Both had also set papal records. Former Kraków Archbishop Karol Wojtyła, now Saint John Paul II, had personally taken the Gospel message to more countries than any other Pope. By the same token, Argentina’s former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio had attracted more than seven million fellow-pilgrims to the Philippines when he visited, the biggest congregation ever assembled in the Catholic Papacy’s 2,000-year history.

And yet, despite their widespread universal appeal, both Native Sons enjoyed their biggest “fan base” amongst fellow-compatriots. Jan Paweł was most venerated, loved and admired in Poland and across the worldwide Polonia. Similarly, Francisco held a special place in the hearts of fellow-Argentinians at home and abroad.