Pope Francis falls, rises, and carries on

Last updated on: July 28, 2016 at 4:16 pm by Father Pablo Migone

Pope Francis falls, rises, and carries on 2016-07-28T16:16:47-05:00 Father Pablo Migone

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With Father Adam before the Mass

I noticed earlier today that the press in the United States has picked up the fact that Pope Francis tripped and fell during Mass today at Czestochowa. He did fall when he approached an unexpected step while incensing the altar at the beginning of Mass. It took less than ten seconds for things to continue. There was somewhat of a gentle gasp as he lost his balance. He did not appear to be in pain, nor did the incident disturb the order of things. By the time Mass ended, most in attendance had forgotten all about it. The Pope continued his schedule and looked fine at the opening ceremony in Krakow where over 600,000 young people greeted him.

The Mass Pope Francis celebrated today in Czestochowa was at the Monastery of Jasna Góra where since 1384 the Paulite Order has watched over the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa. The estimated number of pilgrims present for the Mass was between 300,000 and 500,000, the vast majority of them Polish. There were Polish flags everywhere.

Our Lady of Czestochowa

Several traditions regarding the origins of the image exist, one even associates it with Saint Luke, but most likely the icon came from Constantinople in the fourteenth century to Jasna Góra. The monastery in Czestochowa is quite more than just a simple monastery, but rather a fortress. There are several places to visit, including the Chapel of Our Lady where pilgrims approach the icon prayerfully on their knees. In 1655, the monastery was under siege by Swedish forces. The monks together with soldiers defended the monastery proudly, defeating the Swedes. Ever since that historic moment, Our Lady of Czestochowa has been known as the Protectress of Poland.

Communion time

In 1966, the communist government forbade celebrations in Czestochowa for the 1000th year anniversary of the Christianization of Poland. They denied Pope Paul VI’s request to visit Poland in order to mark the baptism Mieszko, the first ruler of Poland. Today, Pope Francis marked the 1050th anniversary of the Polish people embracing the Christian faith, and their perseverance despite very difficult times (and even the annihilation of their country).

In 1991, Pope John Paul II held the first World Youth Day at Czestochowa. It was appropriate that Pope Francis would celebrate Mass there during his visit to Krakow for World Youth Day.

The crowd this morning was young and excited. Almost all those present were Polish, including many families with young children. The pilgrims were respectful and reverent, everyone kneeling for the consecration throughout the streets and parks leading up to the monastery.

People leaving once the Mass ended

Communion was distributed efficiently and before we knew it, the Mass was over. There was an extended applause that died down but quickly reemerged many times. After some minutes, the helicopter taking Francis to Krakow flew over us as thousands of pilgrims waved goodbye to him. The excitement continues as Pope Francis will now spend several days sharing with and accompanying the youth that have gathered from all over the world.

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