"Habemus Papam!"

	"Habemus Papam!" "Habemus Papam!” In 1978 these two Latin words sounded like a promise of a New Life to all Polish people. The face of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla in black and white TV looked peaceful and happy and we were all full of hope. One year later he came to Poland and it was at the Blonie Field, in Cracow - the Blonia Krakowskie, the fields just beyond the city - that the great transcendent moment of the pope's trip took place. It was the moment when, for those looking back, the new world opened. It was the moment, some said later, that Soviet communism's fall became inevitable. It was a week into the trip, June 10, 1979. It was a sunny day. The pope was to hold a public mass. The communist government had not allowed it to be publicized, but Poles had spread the word. Government officials braced themselves, because now they knew a lot of people might come, as they had to John Paul's first mass. But that was a week before. Since then, maybe people had seen enough of him. Maybe they were tiring of his message. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But something happened in the Blonie field’*… The Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan, April 7th, 2005.
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