Jesuit Cardinal Roberto Tucci On Pope John Paul II And Totus Tuus

Cardinal Roberto Tucci, S.J.

Benedict XVI is about to begin his annual spiritual exercises which have as focus this year : "The Light of Christ at the heart of the Church - John Paul II and the theology of saints ". To coincide with this event we bring you a feature focusing on the prayer life of the late Polish Pontiff as witnessed by one of his closest advisors, Jesuit Cardinal Robert Tucci. Striking, says this Cardinal who was chief organizer of almost all of John Paul II's journeys abroad , was this pope's capacity to isolate himself from everything around him and pray: 

"..even when we were staying in the nunciature early in the morning he would spend three quarters of an hour, alone in the chapel ...he was a man in continuous dialogue with Our Lord, with the Mother of God..." 

In this interview you can also hear how John Paul II drew inspiration from a French Saint for the inscription "totus tuus" on his coat of arms , how his interest in Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Avila stemmed from the influence of a Polish tailor and finally how before becoming pope he spent time writing at a prie-dieu in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament...

Link (here) to Vatican Radio
Listen to this program presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick :