I WANT TO BE CLOSE TO PEOPLE
Anna Przewoźnik talked with the president elect Andrzej Duda on the courtyard of Jasna Góra
The president elect Andrzej Duda arrived in the Jasna Góra sanctuary in the afternoon on 25 May 2015, in order to pray to the Miraculous Image of Our Lady. On the monastery courtyard he was greeted by Pauline Fathers with Fr. Marian Waligóra – the prior of Jasna Góra and Fr. Jan Poteralski – the sub-prior. The Father Prior thanked the newly-elected president for his presence in this place and wished him the Blessed Mother’s care. – Dear Mr. President Elect – he said at the Altar of Homeland – I would like to welcome You with great joy and emotions here, at Jasna Góra , at Home of the Queen of Poland. – Thank you for your presence just today when the whole Church is celebrating the day of the Mother of the Church, the day after the feast of the Pentecost on which You were elected a new president. We hope that Mary who is with us and throughout centuries she gave us so often evidence that she takes care of our Homeland, through Your ministry will take our Nation into Her Motherly arms. We wish it to you and God bless you for your today’s presence which is a great sigh of hope for us. We hope that everything will lead to good changes, to the spiritual, moral and social renewal of our Homeland. Father Prior gave the President elect a copy of the Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Jasna Góra. Having left the Chapel of Our Lady, Andrzej Duda laid flowers at the Epitaph of Smoleńsk. The visit had a private character.
(A.P.)
ANNA PRZEWOŹNIK: - Was it obvious for President that it was necessary to arrive in Jasna Góra soon after the election?
ANDRZEJ DUDA: - I was praying here during the campaign. I arrived here in order to thank the Blessed Mother for Her care, for all these strengths which she gave to me.
– Do President know that here, in this place, many people were praying for this presidency for Poland?
– I know that people were praying and I am very grateful to them for it. I felt great support during this campaign because, in fact, this effort was beyond human possibilities. And that is true that everything was successful thanks to this support and I am very obliged and hence, there is my presence here.
– You receive many congratulations, among the others, wishes of good presidency. What does it mean for President?
– As the president, I would like to serve to Poles. Yes, I would, and regardless of whether they voted for me or not, so that they could say in the end of this presidency that I was trying to be the president of all Poles and respond to their needs; that I was the man who wanted to be close to people and understood them. I want it the most. Because I think that as the society, we need such a presidency.
At the time of announcing official results of the election by the National Electoral Commission, Andrzej Duda was just kneeling in front of the Miraculous Image of Our Lady at Jasna Góra. After his prayer, he went to Kraków, where at Wawel he prayed at the crucifix of St. Queen Jadwiga and at the grave of the presidential couple Lech and Maria Kaczyńscy.
On this day at 9 pm., at the time of the Appeal Prayer at Jasna Góra, in the Chapel of the Miraculous Image, archbishop Wacław Depo, the metropolitan of Częstochowa said before giving blessing: today we confess motherhood of Our Lady with the whole Church. We call Her as the Mother of the Church, that is, Mother of each of us, our whole community of the nation, which is called Poland. Therefore, we thank for the first entrustment of President Elect and we want to pray here, so that the community of the nation would be the sum of devotions, not the sum of interests of this or another social group or a political party.
AA
„Niedziela” 23/2015