A tailor led John Paul II to the priesthood

In his biography of Pope John Paul II, Ted Szulc writes of the influence of a tailor on the decision of the young Karol Wojtyla to become a priest.

One of the most important moments in Karol Wojtyla’s life came on a cold Saturday afternoon in February 1940 at the Salesian Fathers’ parish church of St. Stanislaw Kostka in Deniki, a few blocks from Karol’s house on Tyniecka Street. The special moment occurred when Karol met an unprepossessing 40-year-old tailor named Jan Leopold Tyranowski at a religious discussion at the parish church.

Almost instantly, the tailor became Karol’s mentor in matters religious and spiritual, telling Karol that "priesthood is a . . . short . . . way to make people good." Karol was convinced, and then it was a straight road toward priesthood.

Tyranowski was a strange person who at first invited rejection and suspicion, writes Ted. He was short and gray-haired, physically unattractive by all accounts. He spoke in the cliché language of catechism, and his Polish was full of archaic turns of phrase that grated on the young men present at the discussions.

The son of a Krakow tailor, he was trained as an accountant, but he decided to join his father and brother in the tailor shop in their dark walk-up second-floor apartment not far from Karol’s house. He felt that working at home as a tailor, he had more silence and quiet, and more opportunity for concentration and prayer. Besides he was a loner, convinced that his mission in life was to convey the idea of God and faith to others, especially to young people.

Tyranowski’s opportunity to bring God to his fellow man came when the Salesian Fathers organized a pre-Easter retreat in the first year of the German occupation to try to keep alive their religious spirit. He volunteered to run the Saturday Living Rosary meetings which were subsequently organized, and it was in one that he and Karol first met. The two instantly developed an intense personal relationship as master and pupil.

Karol would write later that while the "truth" Tyranowski proclaimed was "already known from catechism, books and sermons," what he did best was "to work on our souls in the full meaning of this word . . . he wanted to bring out the resources he knew existed in our souls to reveal grace that becomes participation in the life of God."

Ted Szulc writes that lacking formal philosophical or theological training, Tyranowski had the gift of quiet, private preaching. Wojtyla remembers that "once in July, when the day was slowly extinguishing itself, the word of Jan became more and more lonely in the falling darkness, penetrating us deeper and deeper, releasing in us the hidden depth of evangelical possibilities, which until then we, tremblingly, avoided."

Ted writes that Tyranowski was a mystic and an ascetic who guided Wojtyla toward the profound mysticism that would define for more than a half-century the life of John Paul II.

Wojtyla’s choice of St. John of the Cross as the theme of his first doctoral dissertation was undoubtedly inspired by Tyranowski. The mystical behavior that suffering is a gift from God was dramatically displayed in the way Tyranowski died. At the age of 47, he developed an infection that kept him in bed for a full year in excruciating pain, forced the amputation of an arm, and caused total deafness three days before he died in March 1947.

This was the death that Tyranowski had desired, Wojtyla wrote, and for which he prayed. Notwithstanding the constant pain, Wojtyla added, his friend was "always bright and smiling, in fact radiant." Tyranowski had had the satisfaction of seeing Karol become a priest the year before, but his pupil was in Rome when he died.

* * *

The director general of the Center for the Promotion of Peace and Development, Saeed A. Daof, and myself, director of public affairs of the same NGO, were invited to attend the 4th commencement exercises of the New Horizon Integrated School in Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City Wednesday afternoon. Students from Prep to Grades I to VI were given awards.

It looked like any other commencement exercise – except that the school is Islamic. NHIS was established in June 2001 to provide education integrating academic subjects with Islamic teachings to Muslims in Metro Manila. Accredited by the Department of Education, its holistic curriculum integrates the required DepEd curriculum and Islamic teachings and practices. Subjects taught are English ( the medium of instruction), math, science, Filipino culture, physical education, Arabic, Qur’an and Islamic studies. According to dynamic principal Sherma O. Sappari, NHIS prepares young Muslim boys and girls for global leadership in the 21st century.

Commencement speaker was Education Undersecretary Manoros B. Boransing, who challenged parents in the audience to do what Muslims in Singapore have done. They built schools and mosques through their own resources, not from outside donors. Muslims in Metro Manila are unique, he said, as they are successful entrepreneurs and professionals, so they can lead in putting up projects to benefit Muslim communities.

Very proud parents at the rites are friends of CPPDM – Atty. Alim Solaiman, whose daughter, Noorjanna, graduated as Grade 6 valedictorian, and Nasser Nuska, whose daughter, Norhanifah, also finished the sixth grade. Attorney Solaiman is president of the NHIS parent-teachers’ association.

NHIS will open its doors to the first high school freshmen in June.

* * *

Students and teachers of cello music instrument were treated recently to a Suzuki method training course by Korean Master Teacher Ms. Lee Si-Ok at the Greenhills Music Studio in Mandaluyong City. The Suzuki method was pioneered by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, a Japanese musician, who posited that children can learn to play musical instruments faster with the participation of their parents.

Ms. Lee is a well-known pedagogue in Korea and has produced prize winners in various cello competitions and is a long-time member of the Korea Suzuki Association. Coordinating the course was Prof. Carmencita G. Arambulo, president of the Philippine Suzuki Association.

By the way, a Friendship Musical Concert of 101 Filipino and 44 Korean children violinists will be held on Saturday, May 7, in Manila. The event is coordinated by the Philippine Suzuki Association.

* * *

E-mail: [email protected]