Angelo Gugel, the Pope's butler, said the intercession of Saint John Paul II helped him have a fourth daughter. He also spoke of the exorcism in St. Peter's Square.
Angelo Gugel, now 83 years old, recounts stages of his long life alongside the popes. He is of Venetian origin, a former gendarmerie during the reign of Pope Pius XII, worked with Pope Paul VI, in 1978 as a housekeeper for John Paul I, then worked continuously with John Paul II for 27 years, in different positions. During the first month of Pope Benedict XVI he remained in office despite his retirement age. His replacement was the butler Paolo Gabriele, the protagonist of the first Vatileak leak. During the difficult years, many people remember Gugel's impeccable work style, he gave a long interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he told many stages of living with the Popes, starting his life. In the interview, he told the story of how his family received grace through the prayers of Pope Saint John Paul II.
The “miracle” Mr. Gugel received was the miracle of his wife, Maria Luisa Dell'Arche, who were married in 1964. Mr. Gugel said: “Our first child died at birth. We promise to give the middle name Mary to all the children that Our Lady gives us. We have three children in turn: Raffaella, Flaviana and Guido. The fourth child is named Carla Luciana Maria in honor of Karol and Pope Luciani, John Paul I. Carla was born in 1980 through Wojtyla's intercession.” Mr. Gugel explained: “During pregnancy my wife had serious problems. The obstetricians Bompiani, Forleo and Villani of Gemelli General Hospital advised my wife not to continue the pregnancy. One day, John Paul II said to me: "Today I will celebrate Mass for your wife". On April 9, Maria Luisa was taken to the operating room to deliver the baby. When leaving the operating room, Dr. Villani said: "Someone prayed a lot". On the birth certificate, he wrote the time of birth "7:15", which is also the time John Paul II recited the Sanctus during Mass. At breakfast time, Sister Tobiana Sobotka, who works at the Apostolic See, informed the Pope that baby girl Carla Luciana Maria had just been born. Wojtyla said: “Thanks be to God!”. And on April 27, he baptized the baby in a private chapel.”
Gugel then tells the story of why he was chosen as “butler” to John Paul I: “He was my Bishop of Vittorio Veneto. He knows my mother and my wife. Before the Conclave, I came to greet you. He said to me: 'Do you want to save my soul?'". But Mr. Gugel did not think he would be Pope during the 1978 conclave. And August 26, 1978 was the day he was elected. My family is on vacation in Miane. On September 3, the nuns working at the Apostolic See received a phone call from Camillo Cibin, the head of the gendarmerie, saying: "Send Mr. Gugel to Rome immediately and remember to bring your black shirt." I ran to Farra di Soligo to buy a shirt and I went to the Vatican right away. Pope Luciani received me, he said: “I work for you”.
Gugel remembers: “On the first Sunday, after the Angelus, I said to him: Dear Holy Father, do you know how many people come to St. Peter's Square? He replied: 'They came because they knew there was a new pope'. He holds the speeches in his hand. “It is difficult to speak and write simply,” he said. At nightfall, Gugel returned to his family outside the Vatican. He told the story when he discovered John Paul I had died. After dinner, he sent me home at 20:30: "Good evening Angelo, see you tomorrow". The next morning I arrived at 7am. He lay on the bed. I knelt and kissed his hand. His body was still warm. Mr. Gugel said he was very sad when he heard about the conspiracy, to kill people: "It's crazy. The previous afternoon, he had been unwell.
It was I who brought the pill to you before you went to sleep. That night he ate very little. I remember at dinner he told his secretaries about Apparecchio's death in Saint Alphonsus Liguori's book."
Immediately after John Paul II was elected, Gugel was called to serve the Pope.
After two days of voting, Cardinal Assistant to the Secretariat of State Giuseppe Caprio called at 11:30: "Mr Gugel, please present yourself in the Pope's private room." I went up to the last floor of the Apostolic Palace. My legs trembled. There were only Polish prelates, I was the only one who spoke Italian, although I was a housekeeper, I was also the person who helped the pope pronounce Italian correctly in his first speeches. “I was shocked when on the morning of October 22, 1978, before going out to St Peter's Basilica for the solemn audience at the beginning of the pontificate, he called me into his office and read to me the opening paragraph that he would read later. there: 'Do not be afraid, brothers and sisters! Christ knows what is in the human heart. Only You know!' He asked me to correct the incorrect pronunciation and to use underline where it was necessary to read with the correct accent. Two months later, when he met my gendarmerie colleagues, he said one sentencemade me open my mouth: 'If I misread the sign, 50% is Angelo's fault,' and then he smiled at me."
Gugel also recounted his own experience of John Paul II's exorcism during the general audience in St. Peter's Square: "I was there too. A girl was cursing foaming at the mouth. The voice sounded like it was from the bottom of a cave. A frightened bishop fled. The Pope prayed in Latin, at the end he rested his hands on his head and immediately the demon's face relaxed. I have seen him perform such a ceremony in a class in Nervi, always after an audience.”
Speaking of Pope Wojtyla's unknown trips, Gugel said: "These things don't get published in the press. John Paul II loved going to the mountains of the Abruzzes. In 1984, when former Italian Prime Minister Sandro Pertini traveled with us to the Adamello mountains, on a helicopter flight from Villafranca to Trentino, we learned that he was afraid of helicopters. When he arrived, the guests begged him to tell the chef his favorite dish, which is strozzapreti, but he didn't say, he didn't want to be disrespectful to the Pope. Gugel said that in his 27 years with John Paul II, he never heard John Paul II ask for more at the table, he ate what was already served. He said he likes to put cheese in salads.
The most dramatic moment in the butler's life was when John Paul II died. “On April 2, 2015, my whole family got to visit Karol Wojtyla lu, who was dying. The last to enter was Carla Luciana Maria. When Carla came in, he woke up, he opened his eyes and smiled at Carla as if to say: 'I know you, I know who you are'.
As for Benedict XVI, Gugel stayed as his housekeeper for nine months. “I am 70 years old, in the Vatican, that age is retirement age. I was called in on special occasions. I stayed with Pope Benedict XVI during August 2010 at the papal summer house Castel Gandolfo. At the end, I told him I felt like family. He replied: “But always real family!” As for Paolo Gabriele, the butler who worked after him, Mr. Gabriele was the protagonist in the first Vatileak leak, he copied and distributed some of the huge documents of the Pope's office, Mr. Gugel said. : "I'm not surprised. The office asked me to train him, but I think he didn't like to study."
And finally, the faithful and very discreet butler told the story of his visit to Pope Ratzinger: “I find him very wise. His legs are unstable. He must sit down to say Mass.”