21 years ago, Polish Airlines LOT contacted Ceramika Artystyczna – Spółdzielnia Rękodzieła Artystycznego in Bolesławiec to design a special dinner service on which a meal would be served to the Holy Father. (It was 1997, and the pope Jan Paweł II was just returning from a pilgrimage).
The Bolesławiec company accepted the proposal enthusiastically. Several people worked on the “papal” dinner service, but it was Maria Ciszewska who designed its decoration. (The designer specialized in modest, minimalist decorations based mainly on dots and circles. It was decided that this type of ornamentation would be ideal for the Head of the Church).
The future saint drank coffee and ate new potatoes with dill from the Bolesławiec dinner service. The “papal” service is still on sale and remains very popular, especially among Americans and Britons.
Interestingly, after the pope’s death, designer Maria Ciszewska joined a convent at Jasna Góra.
For around three years, the former employee had not been in contact with the company where she had worked for 21 years. But as Helena Smoleńska, head of Ceramika Artystyczna – Spółdzielnia Rękodzieła Artystycznego, says, all the Cooperative’s employees still have the feeling that Ms. Maria is watching over them.