Warsaw, Poland: Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church and Shrine of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko
About Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko:
Within the Church of Saint Stanislaus Kostka you will find the museum of Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko. Father Jerzy was a priest who, although not political, became a martyr of the late 20th Century.
His only crime was that he often celebrated Mass for the striking steelworkers involved in the Solidarity Movement.
As a result, he became an enemy of the State and a target for assassination. Determine to eliminate him, the Communist authorities planned a traffic “accident” for October 13, 1984, which Father Jerzy managed to avoid. Failing this, they captured and tortured, him on Oct. 19. They lured the priest to them by pretending that their car had broken down on a road along which the priest was travelling. His captors reportedly beat him with a rock until he died, and then tied his mangled body to rocks and bags of sand and dumped it in a reservoir along the Vistula River. His body was finally recovered on Oct. 30, 1984.
This horrible act had, as many others have over the centuries, the opposite effect that the Communists had intended. It solidified resistance to the authorities and his funeral drew an estimated one million people, a testament to the bravery and defiance of the Polish people.
His grave is located in front of Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church here in Warsaw. Since then millions more have visited his grave, including Popiełuszko’s gravesite became a site of pilgrimage for many, including such high-profile figures as Ted Kennedy and Lech Wałęsa. Pope John Paul II went there in 1987, and prayed for his intercession. Each year, on October 19, in the anniversary of Fr. Jerzy’s death, thousands of people arrive to the Żoliborz sanctuary with prayers for the canonization of Fr. Popiełuszko.
He was proclaimed a martyr by the Roman Catholic Church and beatified in June 2010 by Cardinal Angelo Amato on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. Over 100,000 people attended the Mass.
We celebrate his Feast Day on June 6.
About the Museum:
There is a small museum attached to the church featuring items relating to Father Jerzy, including the stole he wore when he was murdered and the objects that he had with him at the time.
Finding Saint Sanislaus Kostka Catholic Church in Warsaw:
Address: kard. Stanisława Hozjusza 2, Warszawa
GPS coordinates: 52° 16′ 0.8904” N, 20° 59′ 1.2696” E
Tel: +48 22 839 45 72
email: kontakt@popieuluszko.pl
Click here for the Museum of Blessed Father Jerzy Popieluszko
Photos courtesy Museum of Blessed Father Jerzy Popieluszko
To order a book or DVD of the life of Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko click here.
