Pope St. John Paul II grew up with humble means in his home town of Wadowice, Poland from 1920 until he moved to Krakow in 1938 to study at the famous Jagiellonian University. During a visit to his home town as Pope in 1999, he made mention that he was very fond of a local cream cake known as “kremowka.” The Pope recalled pulling his money together with friends to buy the cream cake from a local bakery in town after school in the market.
Following the Pope’s statements, the very next day the entire town was whipping up fresh Kremowka, which immediately was renamed to “Kremowka Papieska” or “Pope Cake”! The new name for the local delicacy is just a small gesture of endearment and appreciation the Polish people have for their hero Pope John Paul II.
To this day, pilgrims from around the world travel to Wadowice to visit the parish that John Paul II was baptized in, and to tour his childhood home. You can be sure that no pilgrimage would be complete without a stop in a local bakery to sample Pope Cake with a tall glass of milk!
Click here to view the recipe!
[See also: That Time a Traditionalist Priest Stabbed St. John Paul II: The Other Assassination Attempt]
[See also: How St. John Paul II Saved St. Faustina’s Suppressed Divine Mercy Devotion]