Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko
The Warsaw priest murdered by the secret police in 1984
- Rank
- Blessed
- Kind
- Martyr, Priest
- Life
- 1947 – 1984
- Era
- 20th century
- Feast
- 19 October
- Countries
- Poland
Life story
Alfons Popiełuszko was born on 14 September 1947 at Okopy, near Suchowola in north-eastern Poland, into a peasant family. On entering the seminary in Warsaw he took the name Jerzy. Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński ordained him a priest in May 1972, and he served in several parishes before working in Warsaw.
After the Solidarity trade union emerged in 1980 and martial law was imposed in 1981, he stood alongside workers and trade unionists and helped the families of those arrested. From 1982, at the church of Saint Stanisław Kostka in Warsaw, he regularly celebrated Masses for the Fatherland, and his sermons were broadcast by Radio Free Europe. The communist authorities watched, warned and repeatedly harassed him. Those who attended the Masses at Warsaw included workers, students, professionals and families, and the services often combined readings, music and short sermons recalling the dignity of work and the importance of truth and forgiveness.
On 19 October 1984, after a Mass in Bydgoszcz, he was abducted by security police officers on the road back to Warsaw and beaten to death. His body was found in the Vistula reservoir near Włocławek on 30 October. His funeral drew very large crowds, which many saw as an expression of the will for freedom in Polish society. Four officers were tried and convicted in 1985.
He was thirty-seven years old. On 6 June 2010 in Warsaw, Cardinal Angelo Amato celebrated his beatification on behalf of Benedict XVI. His feast is on 19 October, the day he was killed.
Works and witness
- Ordained a priest by Cardinal Wyszyński in May 1972
- Celebrated Masses for the Fatherland in Warsaw from 1982
- Supported workers and families of those arrested under martial law
- Abducted and killed by security police on 19 October 1984
- Beatified on 6 June 2010
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
- Archdiocese of Warsaw – materials on Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.