On October 19, 1984, Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, returning from Bydgoszcz where he had celebrated Mass for the workers, was abducted near the village of Górsk by three officers of the 4th Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (SB), responsible for the fight against the Catholic Church. He probably died that very day as a result of brutal torture before the secret police threw his body into the Vistula River near the Włocławek dam.

To remember the martyrdom of Blessed Popiełuszko on the 42nd anniversary of that tragic day, the Metropolitan of Warsaw, Archbishop Adrian Galbas, celebrated a solemn Mass at the Church of Saint Stanislaus Kostka in Warsaw, where Father Jerzy worked and where his tomb is located today.

Jerzy Popiełuszko was born on September 14, 1947, in the village of Okopy, near Suchowola, in the Białystok region. He was ordained a priest in 1972 and served in several parishes near Warsaw. He was the national chaplain for workers and healthcare professionals, and following the foundation of Solidarity, he became its spiritual leader. Starting in April 1982, on the last Sunday of every month, he celebrated Masses for the homeland, attracting crowds of the faithful and gathering members of the Solidarity movement, which had been crushed by the martial law introduced by Gen. Jaruzelski. The liturgies became a symbol and manifestation of freedom. The homilies delivered during the Eucharist were clandestinely distributed throughout Poland.

It must be emphasized that Father Jerzy was not a political activist, but a Catholic priest faithful to the Gospel, who drew upon the social doctrine of the Church in the teachings of John Paul II and the late Polish primate, now Blessed Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. On one hand, Father Popiełuszko unmasked all the falsehood and hypocrisy of the communist system—”the dictatorship of the people”—and on the other, he showed Christians how to face totalitarianism: “Fight evil with good.” Every totalitarian system relies on fear and intimidation; conversely, Father Jerzy freed people from the fear of the communists, which is why he was considered a mortal enemy by the regime and was sentenced to death. His assassination was not accidental, but part of the modus operandi of the communist totalitarian system, which fought and eliminated, even physically, every opponent.

The communist authorities organized the public “recovery” of Father Jerzy’s mutilated body on October 30, 1984. His funeral was held on November 3 and was attended by about one million people. He was beatified during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI on June 6, 2010.

This year, on the 42nd anniversary of the death of the martyr of communism, Holy Mass was celebrated in the Church of Saint Stanislaus Kostka in the Żoliborz district by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Warsaw, Adrian Galbas. The liturgy was attended by, among others, Father Popiełuszko’s family, Beata Kempa representing the President of the Republic of Poland, leaders of the Law and Justice (PiS) party—Jarosław Kaczyński, Mariusz Błaszczak, and Antoni Macierewicz—representatives of the Solidarity trade union, the clergy of the Archdiocese of Warsaw, and many faithful.

In his homily, the Archbishop of Warsaw made references to the current political situation in Poland created by the rise to power of the coalition formed by Donald Tusk. The President of the Constitutional Tribunal spoke openly about the crypto-dictatorship of the ruling forces, who have occupied public media and the judiciary, and now want to place their own judges in the Constitutional Tribunal and are preparing an “assault” on the National Bank of Poland to install people there who serve the government. They do this by violating laws and the Constitution, as well as the core democratic principle of the separation of powers.

Monsignor Galbas referred to this situation by saying that “the system of checks and balances of power creates guarantees for our freedom, so that no one can seize absolute power, that is, total power, which is not far from a totalitarian regime.” He added: “This is what the constitutional separation of powers is for, as well as the different terms of office of individual state positions.”

He recalled that the democratic system in force in Poland means that “power is dispersed; it is not concentrated in the hands of a single group or political party” and “no one holds absolute power.”

The Metropolitan stressed the fundamental role of the Church in maintaining democracy in the country. “The Church wants to contribute to safeguarding the external freedom of all citizens, regardless of their relationship with faith,” he stated. “It does this, among other things, by playing a critical role toward state power from a position of publicly recognized authority, constantly reminding us of principles that are not subject to consensus, that no majority can change,” said the Metropolitan of Warsaw, echoing the words of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

“Where the Church, as a public and publicly relevant entity, is abolished, freedom disappears,” Monsignor Galbas stated, adding that “an ideological state is totalitarian, and a state becomes ideological when there is no free and publicly recognized authority of conscience to oppose it.”

He explained that “being free means being responsible for ourselves, for our families, for our homeland, for the Church in our homeland, even today, in 2026, in the world we live in, in the Europe we live in, and in Poland as it is.”

As an example of a free man, the Metropolitan of Warsaw cited Blessed Father Popiełuszko. “Imitating Christ, he knew how to master himself and manage with wisdom, maturity, firmness, and perseverance his own life and the lives of those entrusted to him,” he stated. Unfortunately, external freedom “is not a definitive gift” and today too it “must be guarded, defended, and protected.”

During the main celebrations on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of Blessed Popiełuszko’s martyrdom, in front of the Church of Saint Stanislaus Kostka, Presidential Advisor Beata Kempa read a letter from President Karol Nawrocki.

In his message, the President writes: “The priest, who invoked the victory of good over evil, was accused of ‘organizing hatred sessions’ by the propaganda apparatus of the brutal communist state, which enslaved millions of people and killed opponents. He was not the only one to bear the burden of martyrdom. Today, on the anniversary of Father Jerzy’s death, we celebrate the National Day of Remembrance of the Indomitable Clergy – a public holiday honoring all priests who bore witness to faith and patriotism in an era of criminal totalitarianism.”

It should be recalled that the names of 18 priests murdered by the communist regime in Poland are known. Father Popiełuszko, now blessed, is the best known, but others must also be mentioned, such as Władysław Gurgacz, Stefan Niedzielak, Stanisław Suchowolec, or Sylwester Zych.

The President emphasized that many wanted to “erase or desecrate the memory of the assassinated priests. Yet the truth about the heroism and martyrdom of these faithful clerics has survived, guarded in the hearts of our compatriots, passed down from generation to generation, preserved for us and for those who will come after us.”

Nawrocki concluded his letter with an appeal: “May the names and surnames of these wonderful priests, the memory of their perseverance and sacrifice, and their spiritual heritage be passed on to future generations. So that the Poland and the Church for which they gave their lives may endure. Let us honor their memory!”

The article in Italian was originally published on ACI Stampa: https://www.acistampa.com/story/37315/a-varsavia-le-commemorazioni-per-il-42-anniversario-del-martirio-del-beato-jerzy-popieluszko