Next month, October, marks the 40th anniversary of the abduction and murder of Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko (1947-1984). He was a Polish Roman Catholic priest and a Chaplain of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity”. For many Catholics, particularly those born in Central and Eastern Europe, Father Jerzy remains a symbol of all those who suffered or lost their lives at the hands of oppressors adhering to Marxist ideology, simply because they were priests of the Catholic Church.
Father Jerzy`s funeral took place on November 3, 1984, and gathered almost a million people. Since then, the martyr’s tomb has been visited by over 23 million people, including numerous cardinals, bishops, presidents, and representatives of the worlds of culture and science. In 1987, Pope John Paul II made an unofficial visit. On June 6, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI beatified Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, in a ceremony in which over 100,000 of the faithful participated. His legacy continues to inspire people from all walks of life, emphasizing the enduring impact of his message.
Since the early 1950s, seminarians from diocesan and religious seminaries were conscripted into numerous military units across the entire territory of the Polish People’s Republic, which resulted in their dispersion and the necessity for assimilation with other conscripts. Due to instances of evangelization among both peers and professional officers, and, more troublingly, numerous conversions that happened, Polish authorities decided to establish separate military units for seminarians. The first of these units were set up as early as 1964.
The conscription of seminarians into the army was a violation by the communist authorities of the “Agreement of April 14, 1950” between the Polish government and the Polish Episcopate. Seminaries that did not allow visits from communist officials faced various reprisals, such as financial penalties, restrictive tax policies, and the conscription of clerics into the military.
Seminary students were compelled to attend lectures that promoted an atheistic vision of society and ridiculed Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, the Primate of Poland, as well as the Catholic Church. The primary punishments for violating internal regulations within the unit included arduous, extra military exercises designed to break the young soldiers physically and mentally, and discourage them from practicing the Catholic faith. Additionally, Sunday passes, which allowed them to attend Mass, were frequently restricted; public prayers and the wearing of religious symbols were prohibited. In some cases, seminarians were also forced to watch pornographic films.
It should be emphasized that not all seminarians underwent two years of military training; only a certain portion of them did. Statistics indicate that approximately 3,000 seminarians served in the People’s Polish Army between 1959 and 1980 and not infrequently had to endure a great deal of physical and psychological suffering.
As a seminarian at Metropolitan Higher Theological Seminary in Warsaw, Jerzy Popiełuszko served a two-year mandatory military service in an infamous unit in Bartoszyce (1966-1968). From this period, a letter to his spiritual director, Fr. Czesław Mietek has been preserved.
Here are some excerpts:
“02.1967 – Reverend Father,
Thank you very much for the letter and the words of encouragement. Yes, words of encouragement, because at times I had certain doubts about whether I was indeed doing the right thing by facing this, suffering for others. Is it not some sort of recklessness? I have proved to be very tough; I cannot be broken by threats or torture. Perhaps it is good that it is me, because someone else might have broken down and implicated others.
Recently, some events have occurred that will remain in my memory, which I have even noted down. The first of these is the issue of a rosary ring. Though the rosary itself, as it turned out later, was merely a pretext. It began when the platoon commander ordered me to take it off my finger during a class in front of the entire platoon.
I refused, which means I disobeyed the order. For this, one can be threatened with military prosecution. If I had removed it, it would have looked like a concession. The act of removing it is nothing significant. But I always look deeper. Then the same commander ordered me to go with him to the higher authorities and instructed his assistant to bring me for an official conversation. Since the higher authorities were not present, he talked to me himself. He threatened me with prosecution, ridiculed me, saying, “What, a fighter for faith.” But that was nothing. At 5:45 P.M., I reported to the NCO room in full uniform. The inspection lasted until 8:00 P.M. with a break for dinner. At 8:00 P.M., I was taken to the platoon commander. That is when it started. First, he recorded my personal details. Then he ordered me to remove my shoes, take out the laces, and untie my footwraps. So, I stood before him barefoot. Of course, the whole time at attention. I stood like a condemned man. He began to vent his frustrations. He used various methods. He tried to ridicule me, humiliate me in front of my fellow soldiers, and then again surprise me with the possibility of a pass and approvals. I stood barefoot for an hour. My feet got cold, turned blue, so at 9:20 P.M. he ordered me to put my shoes back on. Then he left the room for a moment and went to the boys (peers from the platoon). He returned with comforting news: “They are praying for you in the barracks.” Indeed, the boys were praying the rosary together. I mostly ignored him, praying silently and offered my suffering, caused by the oppressive weight of the backpack, mask, weapon, and helmet, to God, as atonement for sins. God, how lightly one suffers when one is aware that they suffer for Christ. As I mentioned, the rosary was merely a pretext for meeting with me in an official form, because I had previously been called in for such conversations. He mentioned the rosary only once at the end of the conversation. Otherwise, he talked about various things, that I had prestige in the barracks before, and now I am an instrument in the hands of others, of cowards who are afraid to expose themselves. Of course, all was made up. That was an attempt to sow discord with my fellow soldiers. But we know such strategies well. At 10:20 P.M., the political officer came and ordered me to remove the rosary ring in his presence. For what reason, I thought? I did not take it off because it did not bother anyone, and I will not remove it just because someone cannot bear its sight. He released me at 11:00 P.M. A fellow soldier, Wiesiek Wosiński, had duty that night, so he helped me store my weapon in the arms room. I went to the barracks to sleep. But I failed in lying down when the squad leader announced a night alarm for my squad, due to my misbehaviour.”
As we continue these reflections, let us be again inspired by Blessed Fr. Jerzy.
Witnesses to his life recall that, during the martial law Father Jerzy would step out with a cup of warm coffee to the security service officers freezing outside his residence, saying, “It is not your fault that you are here.” Shortly before his death, when those concerned for his life and well-being, angered by the actions of the authorities, urged him to publicly denounce his persecutors by name, he responded, “You really do not understand. I fight against evil, not against the victims of evil.”
It is crucial to remind those who continue to assert that Catholic clergy should not involve itself in politics: Blessed Martyr Father Jerzy fought against sin, not against individuals.
Relics of Father Jerzy are present in approximately eleven hundred locations in Poland and seven hundred locations abroad, across six continents. They can be found in countries such as Australia, South Korea, Vietnam, the Ivory Coast, and the United Arab Emirates.
A solemn Holy Mass with the participation of Catholic clergy and thousands of believers will be celebrated on the liturgical memorial of Bl. Jerzy Popiełuszko, October 19, 2024, at 6:00 PM. Dear reader, might it be worthwhile for you to attend? From Warsaw International Chopin Airport, you can reach the location within 32 minutes. From the Plac Wilsona metro station, it is only a 2-minute walk to Father Jerzy’s tomb, placed next to the Church of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Żoliborz borough of Warsaw.
A number of clergy members throughout the world have publicly criticized the events that took place during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Billions of people who had expected to see a sports spectacle instead witnessed a blasphemous depiction of the Last Supper with a woman dressed as Christ. This was lame and intentionally derogatory, a dramatization that demonstrated a perverse ideology, seeking to denigrate and offend Christians.
If you have not done so, reverend father, reflect on your conscience and consider whether your stance might resemble so-called “couch Christianity,” which Father Jerzy did not endorse in any way.
“A Christian must remember that the only thing to fear is betraying Christ for a few pieces of silver in exchange for barren quietude.” – Father Jerzy Popiełuszko.
Our God, the source of all good, I thank you that, through your love, you gave the Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko the dignity of priesthood. You sent him to spread your word eagerly, to administer the holy sacraments, to act intrepidly in Your Name and always to be close to every human being, calling for forgiveness, unity and peace. You granted him the grace of martyrdom, by which he become like Jesus Christ on the Way of the Cross.
We adore you and thank you, our Lord, for this great gift for the Church, and especially for making him the intermediary in the distribution of grace. In your infinite mercy, please let him join the Community of your Saints and grant me through his intercession the grace… I am asking for in confidence. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(With the permission of the Curia Metropolitan of Warsaw, On April 13, 2010, nr 1465D/2010)
Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, ora pro nobis!