39 years ago, a photo from Malopolskie, East

Photographer's Note

On the October 16th, 1978, exactly 39 years ago, happened something very important for the history of my country and for the history of the Catholic Church. Polish Cardinal, Karol Wojtyla, has been selected to be a new Pope. He took a name John Paul II, which refers to his predecessors, John Paul I, John XXIII and Paul VI. This was supposed to symbolize that he intends to continue the great reform of the church which was started with Vaticanum Secundum.

Although I was a small child I still remember this day because of an incredible enthusiasm of my parents and neighbours.

Now from the perspective of time it is of course easy to find some weak points in his papacy. Not addressing the issue of paedophile scandal in the church or unclear situation with Vatican Bank seem to be the most popular accusations. There are smaller ones which many people are less aware of. The fact that Catholic Church condemns the use of contraception was very much emphasized by Karol Wojtyla. He was selecting all new cardinals using this new key: whether they are supporting this view which was outlined by Paul VI in the document Humane Vitae. As a consequence, the present-day church is in many aspects less progressive than the church led by John XXIII who has started the reform of the church.

Nevertheless, Karol Wojtyla has left an incredible legacy of 14 encyclicals and many more smaller size documents. He completed a full-scale reform of the Catholic Church's legal system, Latin and Eastern, and a reform of the Roman Curia. He has ordered the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul II has been credited with inspiring political change that not only led to the collapse of Communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Eastern Europe, but also in many countries ruled by dictators. In the words of Joaquín Navarro-Valls, John Paul II's press secretary:
The single fact of John Paul II's election in 1978 changed everything. In Poland, everything began. Not in East Germany or Czechoslovakia. Then the whole thing spread. Why in 1980 did they lead the way in Gdansk? Why did they decide, now or never? Only because there was a Polish pope. He was in Chile and Pinochet was out. He was in Haiti and Duvalier was out. He was in the Philippines and Marcos was out. On many of those occasions, people would come here to the Vatican thanking the Holy Father for changing things.

Without a doubt he was a great politician. I remember his visit to Israel, may be the most difficult one. Israeli (sorry Ike) were watching his every word hoping to accuse him of anti-Semitism, he was not only Catholic Pope but also a Pole. Palestinians watched his every word and gesture to accuse him of supporting Israel. I remember reading an article in TIME magazine where after that visit both sides expressed their admiration for his person. Not many people would be able to do it. The next Pope, although a man of great wisdom, with his past offended Jews and with his speeches seriously offended Moslems. Of course, now with politicians like Donald Trump, it feels like the politicians don’t care to be subtle anymore.

Karol Wojtyla was born in Wadowice, small town near Krakow, Poland. This photo was taken in front of his monument with the church in which he was baptised in the background. His family house and now museum is next to this church.

Here is my photo of Karol Wojtyla taken in Vatican.

Fragments of the above text were copied from Wikipedia.

danos, Fis2, alvaraalto, papagolf21, PiotrF, abmdsudi, macjake, ikeharel, Royaldevon, adramad, PaulVDV, tyro, COSTANTINO has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Silvio1953 (206971) 2017-10-16 14:31

Ciao Craig, lovely B&W with beautiful statue in Fg, fine details and splendid clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

lousat (130577) 2017-10-16 14:52

Hi Mariusz,the most great Pope of the modern era for me,a great way to celebrate this anniversary with this imposing perpsective under the statue,a lovely black and white well done as usual. Have a good night and thanks,Luciano

rychem (72179) 2017-10-16 15:22

Tak, to wlasnie rocznica, u nas czczony, choc zachod nie byl nim zachwycony. Bardzo dobre zdjecie i sam pomnik tez mi sie podoba, bo nie wszystkie sa udane
pozdrawiam Ryszard

Nicou (193806) 2017-10-16 18:35

Hello

fantastique recherche de cadrage et vue quel Saint en statue sa crosse son habit et le contraste en fond avec l0église tout blanche quelle vue e tiamge sueprbe.
Bravo et amitié
nciou

dkmurphys (78032) 2017-10-16 23:51

Good morning,
Perfect artistic tribute to that important figure for the Catholic Church and world's history. I love what you did here, good work!

Daniel

emka (153352) 2017-10-16 23:58

cześc Mariusz,

Ja bardzo dobrze pamiętam ten dzień, kiedy w drodze do pracy kupiłam gazetę i ze zdumieniem przeczytałam informacje o wyborze Karola Wojtyły na papieża. Wtedy to rzeczywiście było coś nieoczekiwanego, fantastycznego po stuleciach tylko włoskich papieży. Entuzjazm był wtedy ogromny. Ciekawe Twoje rozważania na temat tego pontyfikatu. Świetna kompozycja z Wadowic, i jaka wspaniała pamiątka z audiencji w Watykanie.

16 października 1978 r., o godz. 13.45, Wanda Rutkiewicz jako pierwsza Polka i Europejka, stanęła na szczycie Mount Everestu – najwyższego szczytu świata. „Świeciło słońce. Wyjęłam z plecaka i zostawiłam na szczycie mały kamyk przywieziony z Polski”. Przebieg wyprawy śledził z Polski prezes Polskiego Związku Alpinizmu, historyk Andrzej Paczkowski. Na bieżąco informował go znajomy dziennikarz z Polskiej Agencji Prasowej. W pewnym momencie zakomunikował: Teraz będzie przerwa, bo w Rzymie właśnie wybrali papieża…, ale wiesz, kogo wybrali?! Zgromadzeni na konklawe kardynałowie powierzyli tron papieski Karolowi Wojtyle.
To był dzień...

Pozdrawiam Małgorzata

danos (110407) 2017-10-17 0:19

Witaj Mariusz,
well chosen the POV with the statue of the Polish Cardinal,Karol Wojtyla,to outline perfect against the white of the Cathedral. Informative your note about the previous Pope.

Regards,Danos

Fis2 (156714) 2017-10-17 0:42

Czesc Mariusz!
Ciekawy kadr z Wadowic.
Zdjecie jak symbol!
Ladna kompozycja i kolorystyka, ktora robi wrazenie.
Milego dnia.
Krzysztof

Tue (82990) 2017-10-17 0:56

Hello Mariusz,
An excellent photo to mark this day. The B&W works very well for this photo, as it makes the dark statue stand out perfectly from the white church in the background. Excellent POV and composition and the sharpness is perfect, the details are all clearly seen.
Lars

Cricri (176) 2017-10-17 3:47

Hi Mariusz
Vous avez créé une belle composition, la statue sombre du pape contre la blancheur de l'église, le cadrage aussi me plaît, le ciel gris, bonne idée du N/B
Aussi je suis contente que TE fonctionne !!!
belle journée
cricri

alvaraalto (42410) 2017-10-17 6:14

Hello Mariusz
Excellent tribute for pope John Paul II. A most remarkable man and I think a hero for the Polish people. I can see from your 2013 post that you were very nearby and almost could shake hand with him and could have a little chat.
Good idea to honour him this way.
Have a nice day. Groet Rob

papagolf21 (152603) 2017-10-17 13:56

Bonsoir, cher Mariusz,
Cette contre-plongée est très réussie en utilisant cette sculpture représentant un personnage mythique. L choix du noir et blanc n'est pas anodin et donne à l'ensemble un effet particulier très apprécié.
Amitiés.
Philippe

LuisGustavoLima (5184) 2017-10-17 15:37

Oi, mais uma vez haha!

Foto legal e nota muito interessante sobre João Paulo I. Ela realmente é muito explicativa sobre o papa. Foi uma ótima escolha colocar a foto em preto e branco, ficou bem interessante. A construção ao fundo parece ser bonita.
Bela foto!

PiotrF (52330) 2017-10-17 17:09

Czesc Mariusz
Rocznica wyboru dla nas Polakow bardzo wazna, ale takimi postami mozna przypominac reszcie swiata o tym waznym czlowieku. Pomnik oddajacy podobienstwo postaci papieza , choc z wielu ktore widzialem (niektore niestety niezbyt udane) najbardziej zapadl mi taki bodajze z Sarajewa. Moze nawet nie chodzilo o jakies super podobienstwo , ale to "cos" co powoduje ze laczysz pomnik z pastacia.
Ciekawa prezentacja
pozdrawiam
Piotr

pajaran (103651) 2017-10-17 21:45

Dobar dan.
Lep pogled, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepo pokazano, dobar kontrast i ostrina.
Lepa skulptura i fasada crkve.
Zelim vam lep i uspesan dan, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good day.
Nice view, interesting and good text ...
Beautifully shown, good contrast and sharpness.
Beautiful sculpture and facade of the church.
I wish you a beautiful and successful day, all the best.

macjake (96319) 2017-10-17 23:09

Hi Mariusz
well, to be honest, i'm going to leave religion out of this one from me - religion doesn't play a role in my personal life, so why start now :)

as for the photo, well thats a different story :)
perhaps photography is my religion! yes! haha

the pov you chose is excellent, its as if the pope is smiling and waving directly at the photographer, and now at us as well. and lucky for you the two main subjects are contrasting each other, one dark, one light. love the UP pov, its dramatic and very effective.
cheers
Craig

ikeharel (106375) 2017-10-18 0:36

Hello Marius,]
Well chosen the date to post this picture, I clearly remember that day in 10/1978 - I was than in a London visit, saw it on TV.
B&W format for this picture, off-set harsh light, I assume.
Have a nice new day,
Ike

abmdsudi (89395) 2017-10-18 3:41

Hi Mariusz
Superb low low view point looking up and use of DOF but wonder how much lower can you get down! I love the feel of enormous depth of space and the dramatic impact of wide lens which is so evident here. The main subjects both dominate superbly fully in focus with great sharpness that you really do bring out the very best in that lens and fantastic to see.

Fabs shot and thanks to your excellent useful in-depth writing, Congrats.
Best regards

Royaldevon (76700) 2017-10-19 1:31

Hello Mariusz,

I like how you share your early memories and deepest thoughts with us. I think I would be like that, had I left my native country to live abroad.
The strength of your photograph, I believe, is in the crossing over of the two features, on different diagonals, with the figure of the Pope waving and welcoming in. The statue would have been lost had the church been a darker colour but you worked it well so that John Paul is welcoming us into the photo and the church!

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

adramad (67596) 2017-10-19 8:26

Hello Mariusz.
Very beautiful, this perspective from below, capturing in the foreground, the sculpture of Pope John Paul II and as background the magnificent apse of the church, good choice for this composition of the B & W.
Good sharpness, exposure, horizontal format and point of view .
Very good work. I like it.
You have a good day.
Best regards.
Luis.

sacimar (38173) 2017-10-19 8:42

Hello Mariusz,

good image to remember this historic moment, I like the image in black and white, the perspective is also interesting, well done,

Best regards,

Sergio

PaulVDV (55509) 2017-10-19 14:07

Hello Mariusz,
Because we always had Italian popes, the choice for a Polish pope was a big surprise. I also remember that time, perhaps with less personal involvement than people in Poland. But a non-Italian pope was seen as a progress of the church. If I remember correctly, Karol Wojtyla was also the first pope who went to visit Catholics throughout the world.
Excellent view upwards.
Very interesting note. I cannot remember that visit of Israel.
Best regards, Paul

tyro (30513) 2017-10-22 8:05

Hello Mariusz,

After a long absence, I am back again on TE! :)

And now I find this wonderful photograph of yours - a stunning presentation of this statue of the man most of us remember as Pope John Paul II, a man whom I admired very much, taken, I presume, against the walls of the cathedral in Wadowice. Your conversion to black and white has given you a stunning result as the dark statue stands out fabulously against the brilliant white of the building overlooking it.

A wonderful photograph with glorious lighting and contrasts yet with full details visible in both the darkest shadows and also in the brightest parts. Exquisite sharpness too.

And a very fine and interesting historical note.

Excellent!

Kind Regards,

John.

COSTANTINO (104983) 2017-11-02 13:08

Hello dear friend and have a nice time
and a happy new day
I red carefully your useful notes
about what happened exactly 39 years ago
that was very important for the history
of your country and for the history of the
Catholic church
no more comments
regards
Costantino

jmdias (103888) 2018-09-01 17:04

mariusz

very special angle, looks like JP II was entering inside the compo. nice inclusion of the lines of the church. a compo very beautiful and well done.

take care

jorge