The great Pope of Totus Tuus was prophesied to the Polish nation

When on October 16, 1978, Karol Wojtyla became the first Polish Pope in history and the great Marian Pope who chose the motto "Totus Tuus" ("I’m all yours") alluding to Mary, the Polish bishops immediately thought of a prophetic poem written in 1848 by the Polish poet Julius Slowacki (1809-1849), titled “The Slavic Pope”:

Behold, the Slavic pope is coming,

a brother of the people.

Behold, he already pours the world’s balm

on our breasts.

And the angel-choir sweeps flowers

towards his throne.

He distributes love, as lords today

distribute arms.

Above him the beautiful sky is opened

from either side.

Across nations he acts as brother,

the voice sent forth.

He brings health, enkindles love

and saves the world.

This poem persisted in popular memory, and planted a seed of hope for a Polish Pope. One would think that Saint John Paul II actually applied himself to following the "program" traced by the famous Polish poet, whose resting place is in a cemetery near Wojtyla’s childhood home in Wawel Krakow.

The Marie de Nazareth editorial team