The article presents a reconstruction of the media image of two pilgrimages of John Paul II to Poland in the 1980s. Texts from Tygodnik Mazowsze, one of the most important periodicals in the so-called second publishing circuit (underground publishing), were chosen as the source material and magazine content analysis was selected as the method. It allowed for the identification of differences in the descriptions of both pilgrimages. Based on thematic categorization, it was possible to indicate that the media image of papal visits in Tygodnik Mazowsze was mainly influenced by the socio-political context. Descriptions of pilgrimages were part of the black-and-white image of the world.