The Christian Way

In the dimly lit foyer, it is just possible to read the notices that hang on the wall amid posters of Pope John Paul II. One large hand-scrawled message contains a plea for men's shoes of all sizes. Another, more ominously, lists the political trials that are currently in progress. Inside the vestibule, a Franciscan nun in a brown habit tends an old-fashioned telephone switchboard. Off to the side, a room is piled high with boxes containing toothpaste, soap, powdered milk and other items.

The Franciscan convent at St. Martin's Church in Warsaw's...

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