Poland

I have just returned from a week in Krakow with three priests of the diocese: Frs John Cooper, Ian Jackson and Martin Morris. Easyjet began flying there from Newcastle a little while ago so we thought we would give it a go. While we stayed in Krakow we had trips to Auschwitz, Jasna Gora and the mountain resort of Zakopane. The picture is of the main church in Zakopane. I was never a fervent admirer of Pope John Paul II but seeing his life from a Polish perspective (as we did when we watched a film of his visits to Poland in the John Paul II centre in Krakow) made me appreciate anew the size of his achievement in the overthrow of Communism. A highlight of the trip was the English Sunday Mass at the church of St Giles. Apart from an excellent sermon by a young Dominican priest, it was an added bonus to have Mass celebrated ad orientem in this lovely church. I discovered that the 1962 Missal is also available on a Sunday at 1.15 in a church on the ul. Krakowska but couldn`t fit it in.

I expect everyone says this but it really was a boost to see so many young people in the churches, going to confession and attending exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Long may it last.