Day 1 Continued

So.... I finally found the AMAZING Gothic-Renaissance-Baroque cathedral, the siteof many poetic inspirations, and most famous for the 1656 vows of King JanKazimierz, who entrusted the Polish Nation into the hands of Our Lady, afterthe Swedish Deluge. The image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in themain altar, a tiny image painted on canvas, most likely, which is surrounded byfat cherubim and pompous patriarchs, who dominate the Roman Baroque altar.Above and around, the polychromy of the Polish artist Jozef Mehoffer glories inMarian-themes frescoes and paintings--strikingly similar to his work in the Franciscan Basilica in Krakow.

Upon entering the church, I was greeted by traditional Polish piety-- a packed church participating in a Eucharistic Procession around the three-naved church,led by flower girls, banner-carrying teenagers, and a large statue of the Sacred Heart. Thinking it was still 6:00 p.m., and hoping to attend Mass after theprocession, I joined in and followed around the gray, incense-filled nooks and chapels of the cathedral. I felt so at home--the traditional hymns were the same as in Warsaw, or in Krakow--a pleasant, perhaps nostalgic feeling, very welcome after a few hours of a foreign language, and a feeling of complete helplessness due to my Cyrillic illiteracy! After the procession, I asked if there would be Mass, only to find out that it had already been celebrated, and that there had been a time change when I crossed the border! Oops. So, here we go. I prayed that something would work out for the night, since I was still homeless, and the sun had set and dusk was slowly giving way to darkness, the period of stillness, as the day crowds have gone inside, and the night-partiers have not yet emerged from their dens. I was immediately met by an alcohol-breath Ukrainian, who spoke broken Polish, and asked if I wanted aroom--no thanks, creepy...

I wandered around a bit, and found the Polish Association--a group that helped Poles in the Ukraine to find places to stay, etc. But it had closed an hour before, since I still thought it was six, and not seven. Going back to the church, I knew that I had to find something soon--Our Lord would not havegotten me here, only to be left out in the street. So, dodging a few more street peddlers and beggars, I finally asked a sister of the Family of Mary,which I took as a sign, since this is the order which my great-great-great-grand-uncle, Blessed Archbishop Felinski, founded. The sister recommended that I ask "the man who is always outside the cathedral asking if people need rooms," which I was relieved to hear. Indeed, the creepy Ukrainian had been an honest person, and after the sister's recommendation, I went out and found him again. He led me about 100 feet down the road, into a rowhouse that, upon entering, I thought would collapse at any moment. Climbing to the second floor up the used, wooden, creaky, stairs, accompanied by thesmell of dampness and what seemed like urine, we came to a door--number 5. An old Polish-Ukrainian lady opened, and led me in--finally, a place to stay, with what seemed like a nice family. I was immediately led into conversation with a Polish doctoral student of history, who, let's just say, was very starving for conversation with a Pole, after being in Lwow for a week. I found my bed--inthe same room, with him, and next to another room that had an additional six beds in it. Here I would take up my humble abode for the next few days. Only to find out about the running water situation, and about the toilet that does not flush well...

My night was very good, surprisingly. All the people in the city must have watched what was a quite embarrassing loss by Ukraine to Italy, in the quarterfinal of the World Cup. The streets were surprisingly quiet after the 3-0 loss. Too bad--I wish that this country that appeared for the first time this year in the World Cup would have made it further with an upset.

This morning, I attended Mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady--the above-mentioned Roman Church. Holy Mass, celebrated in a local Polish dialect, was followed by the pipe-organ-accompanied singing of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Immaculate Conception. I stayed for this, and then walked the 30 seconds back to my lodging. Packing up for the day, I was able to leave my stuff there, and only take what I needed. The couple I am staying with is very nice--and I can understand their living situation. The average retirement pension here is $60 per month, and with prices not much lower than in Poland, it is a very hard life--forcing many older ladies into the street to beg for a daily living, simply enough to buy medicine and basic good .

I went immediately to McDonald's, after hearing not-so-good stories of what happens after one eats the local food--and since I can't read Cyrillic, it's easier to go there and look at the pictures! So, I had an unprecedented nine piece chicken nuggets and French fries, with Fanta and Coffee for breakfast--and the ability to use a fairly clean restroom!! This was definitely a relief ;o) After McDonald's, I decided to walk in the direction of the Cathedral of St. George, which, from what I eventually figured out, is the Greek Catholic Cathedral in Lwow, and also where the Holy Father stayed when he was here in 2001. The rectory is very nice, and newly renovated. Unfortunately, the Roman Catholic clergy and Cardinal Jaworski do not have such nice accommodations--from what I gather, a few rooms attached to the sacristy ofthe cathedral.

The day has been filled with taking in the sights, sounds, and sometimes not-so-pleasant smells of this beautiful renaissance, Baroque and neo-classical city--much of which is still the way it was built by the Austrians in the 18th and 19th century. I have visited many churches, a synagogue, and am wandering around--glad to finally have found this Internet cafe!