Classmates remember ‘Lolek’

THE world came to know Karol Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II, but Danuta Puklo remembers him as Lolek, the nickname for the generous boy who helped her pass a school test.

“We were going to take the graduation exam together, but I got cold feet and backed out,” recalled 84-year-old Puklo. “I met Karol on the street after his exam ... I said to him ‘Lolek, please help me’. He stayed up with me all night and helped me with the material.”

Right up until a few days before his death, the Pope kept in touch with school friends from his hometown of Wadowice. Their grief is compounded by sadness at their thinning ranks and the loss of the one person who served as the focus of their reunions over the years.