John Paul II Museum attracts crowds
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
20.04.2016 13:30
The Family Home of St John Paul museum in Wadowice, southern Poland, the birthplace of the former Polish pontiff, has attracted half a million visitors from 134 countries since it was given a thorough facelift two years ago.
Photo: Facebook.com/Saint John Paul II National Shrine
They have included Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Primate of France Cardinal Philippe Barbarin and the Polish Pope’s personal photographer Arturo Mari.
The museum is located in a house in which in 1919 the Wojtyła family rented a two-room flat.
Karol Wojtyła, future Pope, was born there on 18 May 1920. After his mother’s death in April 1929, he and his father occupied only one smaller room and the kitchen, and stayed there until 1938, when they moved to Kraków.
The exhibition contains parts of the original furnishings of the apartment, numerous documents and the Pope’s personal memorabilia.
Sister of Nazareth Anna Fryc, one of the museum guides, has told the Polish Press Agency that visitors are particularly moved by the sections documenting the election of Pope John Paul II on 16 October 1978 and the assassination attempt on the Pontiff’s life on 13 May 1981.
Among the items on display in the latter section is the gun from which Ali Agca fired at the Pope. (mk/rg)