Karol Cardinal Wojtyła Celebrated My Parents' Holy Matrimony – A Treasured Memento

Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, is pictured with Cardinal Richard Cushing duing his visit to Boston in 1969. (Credit: Pilot file photo)

The outcome of the conclave on 16 October 1978 came as such a surprise around the world that newspapers in New York could not get a picture of the Archbishop of Kraków. It must be remembered that in those bygone days, the pre-internet era, there were no communication tools as popular today such as online websites, E-mails or Facebook. Smartphones and tablets were not yet invented. In general, buying a good camera in Poland was a great achievement. Mainly German and Soviet cameras were available, but they cost a lot.

Cardinals gather in Rome for the conclave of 1978, which elected Karol Wojtyła (Credit: Vatican News)

If you were lucky enough to travel abroad, which was not easy either, you had to bring a camera with you, but most often you would take black-and-white photos or slides. (If anyone still knows what this is…)

Photographs had to be developed, and colour prints were expensive. In the United States, of course, the situation was much better in many respects, including the availability of household appliances and consumer electronics, but digital cameras would not be heard of for a long time yet.

Despite these difficulties, the article on the newly elected Holy Father had to be published, especially when there was a huge interest.

But what is an article without the likeness of the main character!

Especially since few had heard of and seen him.

Although it was true that Cardinal Wojtyla had been to New York two years earlier, there were surprisingly no souvenir photos left from his visit to use and, at that time, he did not attract much attention outside of Poland. Even journalists themselves were interested to see what the ‘Pope from a faraway country’ looked like. 

The hunt for a photograph of Karol Cardinal Wojtyla in New York had begun.

Someone came up with the idea of visiting a ‘Polish Catholic parish’, hoping that one of his compatriots would save them from their trouble. A special Mass of thanksgiving had just been celebrated there. Among Poles around the world, the news from the Vatican initially caused disbelief. Then they were overcome by euphoria, combined with a sense of national pride, which turned into a desire to express gratitude to the Lord God for such a great grace and prayers for our Pope. The exceptions, of course, were people associated with the communist authorities. In Polish diplomatic missions, as a precautionary measure, telephone calls were not answered, as there were still no instructions from above as to whether one should show joy or sorrow. 

Old Photos from the St. Stanislaus Church archives, New York.

Among the faithful gathered at St. Stanislaus Church, New York, at that time, probably only one person possessed the dream photo of the Metropolitan of Kraków. Or perhaps she was simply the most energetic and was able to deliver it in such a flash.

She was Krystyna Kęszycka. After retiring, like many others, she left Poland and went abroad "for bread" — to support her family. Back then, dollars, or ‘greens’, were exchanged favourably on the black market, but this was illegal. Even long after the Second World War, people ended up in prison for this. There was also an official rate, comparably lower. For the 50 dollars exchanged at the ‘horsemen's’ in Poland, a whole family could live quite well for a month, while in America one worked for such an amount for no more than a few days. At that time, it was estimated that there were about 600,000 Poles living in New York alone, and Chicago was considered the largest Polish city. Even the Holy Father said this when he came to visit the USA.

Krystyna Kęszycka took some personal belongings with her to the States. Among them were photographs of her beloved children and grandchildren. At the time, who would have guessed that one of them would be published in a New York newspaper?

Unexpected, but Fortunate Arrangement

Interestingly, Cardinal Wojtyla was initially not expected to celebrate the nuptials of her daughter Helena to Stanislaw Deskur. It was hoped that it would be the groom's brother (Cardinal Deskur), who was a clergyman. He had worked for a long time in the Roman Curia and lived in the Vatican.

Photo: Bishop Deskur (right) concelebrates Holy Mass with Cardinal Wojtyła (left).

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately in this case, the communist authorities made it difficult for him to come to Poland. In this situation, he asked his colleague (Cardinal Wojtyla) to replace him.

The ceremony took place on 14 June 1969 in the chapel of the Archbishop's Palace in Kraków, which is now a very well-known address - Franciszkańska 3.

Photos: (left) Mosaic in the now bricked up window at Franciszkańska 3, where John Paul II appeared to talk to his compatriots during another pilgrimage. (Beata Zawrzel / Reporter) and (right) John Paul II in 2002 (Wojciech Łaski / East News)

Fr. Franciszek Macharski, a colleague of the two aforementioned clergymen, was also very helpful in its organisation. Since their wedding, the Stanislaw Deskur family has lived in the Parish of the Most Holy Salvator in Kraków. The bride's mother left in 1974 and spent about 10 years in New York.

New York newspaper featuring Krystyna Kęszycka’s daughter, Helena, standing before Cardinal Wojtyla on her wedding day.

The photograph from this wedding was ‘mistakenly’ signed as if it was Helena Kęszycka-Deskur who lived there, although she had never been to America. This must have caused a great deal of displeasure in the family, since the phrase ‘New Yorker’ was crossed out in the surviving clipping. Nevertheless, it is one of the most valuable mementos from her encounter with Pope St. John Paul II.