The Rest of Krakow

I certainly didn't think it would take me this long to describe my trip to Krakow, but I guess that's just the way it is.

There was a book I read in fifth grade called "The Trumpeter of Krakow" which, while it was a fictional story, had something to do with a real event. For centuries, there was a tradition in Krakow that a trumpeter would play a hymn to Our Lady from the tower of the church of St. Mary in the old main square of the city. At the top of every hour, he would play the tune four times, in four directions (once to each of the "four winds"). In 1241, the trumpeter was carrying out his duties when he saw an army of Tatars approaching the city from the east. Knowing that the army posed a great threat to the city, the trumpeter decided that the best way to alert the citizens would be to play Our Lady's hymn over and over, without stopping. Of course, when the people heard the hymn being played non-stop, they knew something was wrong; they understood it as a warning, and the soldiers mounted the city walls. They defended Krakow against invasion. The Tatars, perceiving what the trumpeter had done, fired an arrow at the trumpeter once they were within bow-shot, and the arrow lodged squarely in the trumpeter's throat. The trumpeter gave his life to save Krakow that day, and to this very day the hymn to Our Lady is played from St. Mary's tower four times at the top of every hour, being cut short at the very point in the tune at which the famed trumpeter of Krakow was killed.

I know it's small, but can you spot the trumpeter in the photo?

On another day, we took a trip by train to Czestochowa, the "holiest site in Poland." I read somewhere that the shrine receives an average of 14,000 pilgrims every day. The shrine itself is actually a monastery (or convent) that has a large basilica attached to it.The main attraction of the shrine is the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, pictured below. I don't know the whole story of the image, but I will mention that the image (without the gold "frame") was created, according to tradition, by St. Luke in the home of Mary and Jesus. Also, the stripes you see on Mary's right cheek were put there by a Hussite robber, who struck the image with his sword twice, and before he could inflict a third blow, fell to the ground and writhed in pain until his death. Efforts to repair the image were always futile, since the two "scars" always reappeared.
Another very interesting trip in Poland took us a short distance outside the city of Krakow to the site of an enormous salt mine. Back in the day, salt was worth almost as much as silver. This mine dates back at least 900 years, and only in the 1990s was mining at this site discontinued. There were nine levels within the mine, the first (and most shallow) being reached after descending a flight of some 350 steps!

There are hundreds of caverns, all carved out of huge monoliths of rock salt. Several of these caverns are used as chapels, and the largest one is pictured below. This is the deepest underground chapel in the world. The photo is taken from the back of the chapel, in a "choir loft" of sorts, looking down into the body of the chapel.

What is perhaps most amazing about this chapel is the fact that it was completed by three men, and not all working at the same time. The three "constructed" and decorated the chapel over the course of more than 60 years. They carved statues, made Stations of the Cross on the walls, made the altar and ambo and all the normal furnishings of a church - all out of rock salt! AND they did all this after hours, as volunteers, simply because they loved doing it.

I thought this salt carving of the Last Supper was particularly amazing and beautiful.

The story of my trip to Krakow concludes with a journey to the Divine Mercy Shrine on Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter, the Sunday within the Octave of Easter, the Second Sunday of Easter - however you like to call it). The shrine is situated just a short distance south of the old center of Krakow, and is reachable by city tram. We arrived at the shrine around 7:30 a.m. and made our way to the sacristy. Already at this hour, there were hundreds of pilgrims at the shrine - in fact, one Mass was just finishing as we arrived.

In the sacristy, I had hoped to be directed to a kind of small chapel with side altars where visiting priests could offer Mass. However, once I finally found someone who spoke English, I was encouraged to concelebrate the Mass in the main basilica, which would be presided over by Cardinal Macharski, former Archbishop of Krakow (and, I would find out later, one of Pope John Paul II's closest friends). I argued that I didn't speak Polish - and couldn't even pronounce Polish, for that matter - but the sacristan offered me a booklet with the words of the Mass in 8 languages. So I ended up concelebrating, just saying my parts in English. It was great to see the basilica absolutely packed, and I imagined that if this was the 8:00 a.m. Mass, the Masses throughout the rest of the day would draw even more people.

Before leaving the shrine, we lined up to enter the small cloister chapel where the relics of St. Faustina Kowalska are kept. Most people just filed by, venerating a relic held by a Sister and continuing on their way. We followed suit, but stayed in the chapel a few extra minutes just to pray. Then we were back to the tram station and back to the city center.

Thus concludes the Krakow saga. I never used to think that I was such a rambler, but I guess when I write I tend to be loquacious! Maybe the fact that I need to come up with a 60-page thesis has something to do with it, too... I've finished the first chapter (16 pages) and now I'm doing the research and organization for the second. Continued prayers are appreciated.