I cried as I met Pope in 1979, it meant so much for us Polish
A WOMAN who had a chance to greet Pope John Paul II personally on his Irish visit in 1979 remembers how significant it was for her people.
Jadzia Kaminska and her family met the Polish Pope when she was 14, representing the small but growing Polish-Irish community at the time.
Her father, Jan Kaminski, a Holocaust survivor and founder of the Irish Polish Society, was asked to welcome him with a Polish greeting as over a million Catholics watched on in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
Jadzia says there were only around 20 people in the society initially but it grew to 400 when the Papal visit was announced. People presented passports and any other document that would prove where they came from.
Recalling the day, September 29, 1979, Jadzia told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘My father was so happy this event was happening. The fact a Polish Pope was coming to Ireland.
‘When the Pope arrived, we were the first group he met before the event even started.
‘Dad made his speech and then he came over to say hello to all of us. I think I was in awe at that stage. I remember distinctly crying because I was in awe of the whole event, he had this huge presence and you could feel that this was a very important day in a lot of ways, not just from a religious point of view.’
Jadzia agreed that given Ireland’s growing multi-cultural population, it would be important for the Pope to acknowledge today’s minorities:
‘That’s the country we are today and better for it. I think the homeless issue is very significant today and I’m glad to see a visit with the homeless included in the itinerary.
‘The Church is a very different place now. The groups that are important are those who have suffered under the Catholic Church and it seems they are getting it right in terms of who the Pope should be meeting.’
Her father, now in his late 80s, will not be well enough to attend this year’s ceremony although he would have liked to.