From the Archives – A Visit from A Future Pope

In 1969 and 1976, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the archbishop of Krakow, Poland, and future Pope John Paul II (now a saint whose feast day is this week, on October 22), visited Alexandria. He was accompanied by 17 other Polish bishops in 1976, after they attended the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia. His guide for the tour was Father Philip Majka, assistant pastor at Saint Mary and a third-generation descendant of Polish immigrants. Father Majka described the Cardinal as “very holy, sincere and completely open to conversations.” His English was fluent, and the Cardinal said he liked Old Town Alexandria, which reminded him of southern Poland with its cobblestone streets and old buildings that had been untouched by the German invasion in World War II.

Whether he actually visited Saint Mary Church during this visit is debated. The Alexandria Gazette printed a front-page article (October 18, 1978) after he was elected pope. The article states that he did visit the church. Several elderly ladies, who had been at a meeting of senior citizens in 1976, were interviewed when we were writing the history of the parish for its 1995 bicentennial. The ladies all insisted they had met and spoken with the future pope. It was a highlight of their lives! But when we interviewed Father Majka to get more details, he chuckled and told us it was another Polish bishop, the Rev. Jerzy Avelwicz of Ranow, whom the ladies met. Father Majka had acted as his guide in both 1969 and 1976, but neither he nor the ladies are still around, so it will remain a mystery. We do know Cardinal Wojtyla visited Alexandria, experienced a bumpy ride down Captains’ Row, attended a luncheon of Old Virginia food at Gadsby’s Tavern and visited the City Hall, where he received the key to the city from Vice Mayor Nora Lamborne, a Saint Mary parishioner. Just two years later he was elected Pope John Paul II.

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian

In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series. An archive of the features is located here.