Jerzy Popiełuszko | |
|---|---|
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| Martyr | |
| Born | (1947-09-14)14 September 1947 Okopy, nearSuchowola,Republic of Poland |
| Died | 19 October 1984(1984-10-19) (aged 37) Włocławek,Polish People's Republic |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 6 June 2010,Warsaw,Poland by ArchbishopAngelo Amato on behalf ofPope Benedict XVI |
| Feast | 19 October |
Jerzy Popiełuszko (Polish pronunciation:[ˈjɛʐɨpopʲɛˈwuʂkɔ] bornAlfons Popiełuszko; 14 September 1947 – 19 October 1984[1]) was aPolish Roman Catholic priest who became associated with the oppositionSolidarity trade union incommunist Poland. He was murdered in 1984 by three agents ofSłużba Bezpieczeństwa, who were shortly thereafter tried and convicted of the murder.
Popiełuszko has been recognized as amartyr by theRoman Catholic Church and wasbeatified on 6 June 2010 by CardinalAngelo Amato on behalf ofPope Benedict XVI.[2] An alleged miracle attributed to his intercession, which could lead to hiscanonization, is now under investigation.
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Popiełuszko was born on 14 September 1947 inOkopy, nearSuchowola. After finishing school, he attended the priests' seminary atWarsaw. In 1966–1968, he served his army duties in a special force inBartoszyce, aimed at keeping young men from becoming priests.[3] This treatment had no effect on Popiełuszko's beliefs, as, after finishing his army service, he continued his studies; however, the repeated punishments for his resistance affected his health for the rest of his life.[3] Popiełuszko, with seminary superiors' permission, changed his name from Alfons to Jerzy because the word "alfons" was used to describe a person (especially a man) who deals withprostitution, giving it a negative connotation in Warsaw.[4]
Popiełuszko was ordained a priest by CardinalStefan Wyszyński in May 1972.[5] As a young priest he first served inZąbki near Warsaw in 1972–1975.[6] Afterwards, he served in parishes in Warsaw, which consisted of the common people as well as students.[7] In 1981, Jerzy Popiełuszko joined the workers, taking part withstrikers in the Warsaw Steelworks. Thereafter he was associated with workers and trade unionists from theSolidarity movement who opposed thecommunist regime in Poland.
He was a staunch opponent of the communist regime and, in his sermons, interwove spiritual exhortations with political messages, criticizing the government, expressing solidarity with the interned and motivating people to protest. During the period ofmartial law, the Catholic Church was the only force that could voice protest comparatively openly, with the regular celebration ofMass presenting opportunities for public gatherings in churches.
Popiełuszko's sermons were routinely broadcast byRadio Free Europe, and thus became known throughout Poland for their uncompromising stance against the regime.
Invited by the Pastoral Care of the Working People (Polish:Duszpasterstwo Ludzi Pracy), Popiełuszko arrived inBydgoszcz on 19 October 1984. At 18:00, he celebratedHoly Mass at theChurch of the Holy Polish Brothers Martyrs.A car accident had been set up to kill Popiełuszko on 13 October 1984 but he evaded it. The alternative plan was to kidnap him; it was carried out on 19 October 1984. The priest was beaten to death by three Security Police officers: Captain Grzegorz Piotrowski, Leszek Pękala, and Waldemar Chmielewski. They pretended to have problems with their car and flagged down Popiełuszko's car for help. Popiełuszko was severely beaten, tied up and put in the trunk of the car.[7] The officers bound a stone to his feet and dropped him into the Vistula Water Reservoir nearWłocławek from where his body was recovered on 30 October 1984.[8] A day after the discovery, PresidentRonald Reagan acknowledged that Polish people lamented as they were aware of Popiełuszko's passing. Reagan stated that Popiełuszko "was a champion of Christian values and a courageous spokesman for the cause of liberty."[9]
News of the political murder caused an uproar throughout Poland, and the murderers and one of their superiors, Colonel Adam Pietruszka, were convicted of the crime. A huge crowd estimated to be between 600,000 to 1 million, includingLech Wałęsa, attended his funeral on 3 November 1984. The murder was widely used in political propaganda of the Polish opposition in the late 1980s. Popiełuszko's murderers – Captain Grzegorz Piotrowski, Leszek Pękala, Waldemar Chmielewski and Colonel Adam Pietruszka, responsible for giving the order to kill – received prison sentences.[8]
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Popiełuszko was posthumously awarded theOrder of the White Eagle, Poland's highest decoration, in 2009.[10] He is buried inSt. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Warsaw, where millions of visitors paid tribute, including famous politicians like U.S. Vice PresidentGeorge Bush in September 1987.
Noted Polish composerAndrzej Panufnik composed hisBassoon Concerto (1985) in memory of Popiełuszko. The work is inspired by Popiełuszko's work and death.[11]
To Kill a Priest (1988) is a movie directed byAgnieszka Holland and starringChristopher Lambert as a character based on Jerzy Popiełuszko.[12]
A track entitled "Homily to Popiełuszko" is featured on the B-side to the albumFlajelata (1986) byMuslimgauze. The entire B-side of that album is dedicated to all dissidents from theSoviet Union.
A transcript of the trial of Popiełuszko's murderers was used in producing a play,Ronald Harwood's documentary dramaThe Deliberate Death of a Polish Priest. It was premiered at theAlmeida Theatre in October 1985.
A movie,Popieluszko: Freedom is Within Us, documenting the life and death of Popiełuszko, was released in Poland in February 2009. Another film,Jerzy Popieluszko: Messenger of the Truth, was produced byPaul G. Hensler in 2013.
In the television showThe Americans, the episode "Duty and Honor" in season one featured a fictional Polish resistance leader loosely based on Popiełuszko.
In their workManufacturing Consent,Edward S. Herman andNoam Chomsky used Popiełuszko's murder and subsequent media coverage in theUnited States as a case study of their "propaganda model", in which it is compared and contrasted with the coverage of murders ofÓscar Romero and otherLatin American clergy by US-backed forces.[13]
There are numerous monuments to Fr. Popiełuszko in Poland, including the towns ofSuchowola, where he attended and graduated high school,Bartoszyce, where he served his army duties,[14] andZąbki, where he first served as a priest.[6] The places of his kidnapping inGórsk and death in Włocławek are commemorated with monuments in the form of crosses. There is also a museum dedicated to him in Suchowola.
The first monument of Jerzy Popiełuszko was created by Polish sculptor and dissident Marek Sobociński, and was unveiled in 1986 in Mariaholm nearAskim,Norway.[15]
A monument to Fr. Popiełuszko in the form of a symbolic gravestone in the shape of a cross was erected byChicago's Polish community in the garden of memory next toSt. Hyacinth Basilica.
A monument to Fr. Popiełuszko in the form of a bust bearing his likeness with a chain wrapped about his neck was erected on the property of Saint Hedwig Catholic Church inTrenton,New Jersey.
A pocket park across from McCarren Park on theWilliamsburg-Greenpoint border in Brooklyn, New York, a historically Polish neighborhood, is named for Fr. Popiełuszko and features a stone bust bearing his likeness.
Popieluszko Court inHartford, Connecticut, was named in his memory. The SS. Cyril & Methodius Church is located on this street, serving as an important cornerstone for the area's Catholic Polish-American community. The street intersects with Charter Oak Boulevard, with the main entrance to the parking lot of the Polish National Home of Hartford across the street at the end of Popieluszko Court.
A two-part monument has been installed inNew Britain'sWalnut Hill Park consisting of an inscribed stone plaque near an abstract sculpture of an eternal flame.
The stone is inscribed with the Polish TitleZło Dobrem Zwyciężaj: "This human rights monument of common fieldstoneand steel is built in memory of Father JerzyPopieluszko who gave his life to God and to thegoals ofSolidarność – human rights, justice,peace and freedom for Poland and for all mankind.May this eternal flame of liberty and thememory of his courage and sacrifice burn foreverin the hearts of all freedom-loving people.1947 Good shall vanquish evil 1984"
The abstract sculpture of the eternal flame was created by Henry Chotkowski and dedicated on June 16, 1989. An aluminum plaque on the stone wall surrounding the sculpture explains the significance of the sculpture.
The rock that was used to kill Popiełuszko was placed in theSan Bartolomeo all'Isola in Rome as a relic of a 20th-century martyr, part of the memorial to 20th– and 21st–century martyrs.[16]
There are two monuments commemorating Father Popiełuszko inBudapest,Hungary. In 2017, a monument containing Father Popiełuszko's motto "Overcome evil with good" written in Polish and in Hungarian was unveiled in theCsepel district of the Hungarian capital. In Csepel, there is also a street named after Father Popiełuszko and a belfry in his honor. Meanwhile, in 2016 in theÓbuda-Békásmegyer district of Budapest there is a square named after Father Popiełuszko and a monument consisting of stones that make up a rosary featuring quotes by Popiełuszko.[17]
There is also a monument in the French city of Béziers.[18]
The tomb of Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko was designed byJerzy Kalina, located inWarsaw.Popiełuszko was to be buried in thePowązki Cemetery. However, the parish priest ofSt. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Warsaw, Fr. Teofil Bogucki, the faithful and numerous friends of the murdered chaplain asked PrimateJózef Glemp to bury the Popiełuszko in the church.[19] It is located in the grounds ofSt. Stanislaus Kostka Church at 2Stanisław Hozjusz Street in theŻoliborz district of Warsaw. The tomb is located under a large tree, near the eastern corner of the fenced-in area of the church.[19]
The tomb has the shape of a burial mound with a cross-shaped granite slab on top. In the immediate vicinity of the grave, on one of the trees, there is a crucifix created byGustaw Zemła.[20] The grave is surrounded by a rosary of cobblestones arranged in the shape of Polish borders. The link is in the form of a crowned eagle withOur Lady of Częstochowa on its breast.
The memorial grave was built in 1986 on the site of a wooden cross. The cross was already surrounded by a rosary of fieldstones arranged in the shape of Poland's borders. Since 1984 the shrine and the tomb of the priest became a place of pilgrimage. On 14 June 1987,Pope John Paul II visited the church.[21] On 19 October 2004, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of FatherJerzy Popiełuszko's death, a solemn mass was held in St. Stanislaw Kostka, attended by more than 20,000 faithful. At the same time, a museum dedicated to Jerzy Popiełuszko was opened in the basement of the church.[22]
In April 2010, Fr. Popiełuszko's relics were exhumed and canonically discerned (this was a requirement of canon law). The grave was then renovated, and the body of the martyr was placed in the same place in a new coffin.[23] It is estimated that till 2009 the site was visited by about 18 million people.[24] Among those who prayed at the tomb were:[19]
TheRoman Catholic Church started the process of hisbeatification with the declaration ofnihil obstat (nothing against) on 15 March 1996 and held a diocesan process from 8 February 1997 to 8 February 2001. This conferred upon him the title ofServant of God. In 2008 thepositio was submitted to theCongregation for the Causes of Saints and on 19 December 2009 it was announced thatPope Benedict XVI had approved the decree for the beatification of Father Popiełuszko.[25]
He was beatified by ArchbishopAngelo Amato on 6 June 2010 in Warsaw'sPiłsudski Square. His mother, Marianna Popiełuszko, was present at the event.[26] More than 100,000 people attended the open-air Mass in the Polish capital Warsaw to beatify Father Jerzy Popieluszko.Poland Post issued a set of stamps on that same day to mark the beatification.[27]
In October 2013, CardinalKazimierz Nycz – theArchbishop of Warsaw, the diocese where Popiełuszko was killed – announced that a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Polish priest has been identified and confirmed inFrance. Thus Cardinal Nycz predicts that Popiełuszko will likely becanonized soon, based on the credibility of the case presented.[28] A miracle was investigated in a diocesan process in France from 20 September 2014 until 14 September 2015 and the results of that investigation turned over to the Vatican for assessment.
