Poles Rejoice today: Their Priest behind their Pope

The Polish people are elated today to have the late Holy Father's priestly Secretary become their new Archbishop of Krakow, Poland. There could have been be no finer choice. Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, 66, will succeed Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, 78, who presented his resignation for reasons of age, the Vatican press office announced. (I was pleased to meet the Cardinal five years ago.)

Upon getting the news, Archbishop Dziwisz's first thought was to rush to the tomb of his episcopal predecessor -- St. Pope John Paul the Great, former Archbishop of Krakow. "I feel I have been sent from the tomb of St. Peter to that of St. Stanislaw," he said. (St. Stanislaw's tomb is in the Cathedral of Krakow, Poland.) "And I trust profoundly that, in this trip, the Holy Father John Paul II will accompany me. Therefore, I will not be alone, but with him," he said.

+ Stanislaw Dziwisz was born on April 27, 1939, in Raba Wyzna, in the Archdiocese of Krakow. He was ordained a priest in 1963 by the then Archbishop Karol Wojtyla (Saint Pope John Paul the Great) of Krakow. From 1966 to 1978 he was the Saint's private secretary -- and, afterwards, throughout his long Pontificate. He was consecrated a Bishop by Pope John Paul II in 1998 and elevated to the dignity of Archbishop in 2003.

The Archdiocese of Krakow is my ancestorial home. Once again there is Polka dancing in heaven -- and I know who's leading them. What a great joy it is to see all my my favorite priests advancing to the forefront this year.