"Awesome!" exclaimed Sister Benedykta Mazur, as she described Wadowice's new museum dedicated to its revered hometown boy, Pope John Paul II. His enthusiasm for his faith and his country radiates through this rural town in southern Poland. And in the spring sunshine Sister Benedykta reminds me of how and why Poland has defied historical odds and emerged as a stable, dynamic country in the heart of Europe. Sister Benedykta tells me Pope John Paul II made patriotism part and parcel of the fourth commandment, honor and love thy parents. She says the pope encouraged Polish people to love their country and believe in its potential.
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Pope John Paul II was born in the Polish town of Wadowice
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He was recently canonized and the town has been reinvigorated
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Many say that he helped support change in the country and the end of communism 25 years ago
All these details have been written and rewritten in modern history countless times, but it is on our visit to @placeholder that we really saw their significance.