Pope John Paul II’s longtime aide, who worked with the pontiff for 40 years and cradled him in the "popemobile" after a 1981 assassination attempt, was installed yesterday as archbishop of Krakow, the post once held by the late pontiff.
Pope Benedict XVI, who appointed Stanislaw Dziwisz to lead the important diocese in June, described him as "the best person to hold this position" in a papal bull read out by the Rev. Jan Zajac during a ceremony in the Wawel Castle cathedral.
"By now, the faithful have come to know your responsibility and dedication, and I am sure they will be obedient to you," the bull said.
Dressed in a white and gold robe and miter, Dziwisz walked in a procession to St. Mary’s Church, surrounded by hundreds of priests and bishops in white robes, nuns, and city officials. He held a silver and gilded staff given to Karol Wojtyla - the future John Paul - when he became archbishop of Krakow in 1958.
Dziwisz blessed the crowds as he walked through the city, smiling as he repeatedly made the sign of the cross. Tens of thousands of people who lined the streets under the scorching sun responded with applause and shouts of "Bravo!"
Dziwisz was to deliver a homily in a service outside St. Mary’s, a double-spired brick church that is a city landmark.
Dignitaries in attendance included Pier Ferdinando Casini, president of the lower house of the Italian Parliament, and Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the vicar of Rome and a longtime collaborator of John Paul’s.
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Warsaw Mayor Lech Kaczynski also were in attendance.
Dziwisz, 66, was at John Paul’s side for nearly 40 years in Krakow and then Rome. Although he received a warm welcome from Poles because of their reverence for John Paul, his positions on church doctrine are largely unknown.
Over the years, Dziwisz grew into an important figure at the Vatican, where he was known simply as Don Stanislaw. His role as John Paul’s gatekeeper developed as the pontiff’s health worsened in the last years.
But to John Paul, he was simply "Stasiu," an affectionate nickname that revealed the closeness of the two men. They shared a love of sports and would ski and walk in the mountains together before the pope became too frail.
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