Archbishop of Cracow Stanislaw Dziwisz is to publish a memoir about his life at the side of Pope John Paul II. 'A Life With Karol' follows forty years of service as secretary to the Polish hero, beginning when the future Pope was a bishop here in Cracow.
As private secretary and above all friend to Karol Wojtyla, Cardinal Dziwisz was in a unique position to observe the unfolding of history. Drama was never far away. It was Cardinal Dziwisz who shielded the Pope following the assassination attempt in May 1981. As 'A Life With Karol' reveals, it was touch and go that week in Rome, with doctors telling Cardinal Dziwisz that it was uncertain whether the Pontiff would pull through.
Cardinal Dziwisz inherited the Cracovian see in 2005, following the retirement of the aging Cardinal Franciszek Marcharski, another close friend of the Pope.
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