Poland sends medical supplies to Vatican

By Gabriella Ceraso and Amedeo Lomonaco

Thanks to the solidarity of the people of Poland, masks and other medical supplies arrived in the Vatican on Friday. They arrived as Italy is still combating the Covid-19 virus.

Poland’s President, Andrzej Duda, and Pope Francis spoke in the days preceding the arrival of this donation.

Both the Polish Ambassador to the Holy See, Janusz Kotański, and the Apostolic Almoner, Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, played crucial roles in the arrival of these products.

Cardinal Krajewski is untiringly dedicated in his efforts to make the Pope’s tenderness and closeness felt. He acts as the face of the Church's charitable mission and those most in need on the streets of Rome.

Poland’s proverbial solidarity

Today’s special gift is “a sign confirming Poland’s proverbial solidarity,” Janusz Kotański told Vatican News.

He underlined this point, saying that “solidarity is our specialty, a Polish specialty. The gift for Vatican City is destined to the poor and those who are sick”. He further specified that the medical supplies sent will benefit “Italians, Vatican City, the Gendarmeria, and the Swiss Guard."

How the initiative started

Poland’s Amassador to the Holy See explained that “Andrzej Duda, Poland’s president, spoke with Pope Francis. Eight days after that, we offered our aid, from the heart, for Vatican City. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski helped us in this”.

He also noted that was easier for them to go through Cardinal Krajewski, “because he is Polish”.

How Poland is coping with the crisis

Ambassador Kotański said that “the situation in Poland is not the same that Italy is experiencing. It is not a tragic situation. This moment is also a difficult time for our nation, but not like in Italy, Spain and Germany."