Polish cardinal, friend of Pope JPII, buried at Wawel Cathedral
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
05.08.2016 13:38
Polish Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, a close friend of the late Pope John Paul II, was buried on Friday at the historic Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, southern Poland.
Funeral mass for Cardinal Macharski on the square in front of Wawel Cathedral. Photo: PAP/Stanisław Rozpędzik
A funeral mass held on the square in front of the cathedral was attended by President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Beata Szydło, senior clergymen and officials and crowds of faithful.
Cardinal Macharski, one of the most prominent figures of the Polish Roman-Catholic church in the 20th century and well into the 21st, was archbishop of Kraków from 1979 to 2005.
He assumed the position when his predecessor, Karol Wojtyła, was elected Pope John Paul II.
Cardinal Macharski died on Tuesday at the age of 89.
He was laid to rest in a crypt at Wawel Cathedral for Kraków bishops.
During a visit to Poland for World Youth Day last week, Pope Francis made an unannounced stop at the University Hospital in Kraków to talk to doctors caring for the cardinal.
In a tribute earlier this week, President Duda wrote: "A huge loss. Cardinal Franciszek Macharski has died, a great Pole, a distinguished man of the Church. RIP.”
(pk)
Source: PAP