“If I remember correctly, it was in 1985. One afternoon I went to pray the Holy Rosary that was being led by the Holy Father. He was in front of everyone, on his knees. The group was large. I saw the Holy Father’s back and, little by little, I got lost in prayer. He was not alone: he was praying in the midst of the People of God to which I belonged and all those who were there, led by our pastor.”
“In the middle of prayer, I distracted myself by looking at the figure of the Pope: his piety, his devotion were a testimony. And time passed, and I began to imagine the young priest, the seminarian, the poet, the worker, the boy from Wadowice… in the same position in which he was kneeling at that moment, reciting Hail Mary after Hail Mary. His testimony shocked me,” he stated.
The then cardinal added: “I realized the density of the words of the Mother of Guadalupe to Saint Juan Diego: ‘Do not be afraid; Am I not your mother?’ I understood the presence of Mary in the life of the Pope. That testimony was not forgotten in an instant. From then on, I pray the 15 mysteries of the Rosary every day.”