19 October: Commemoration of the 37th anniversary of the kidnapping and martyrdom of Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko

The solemn Holy Mass on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Jerzy Popiełuszko, together with a prayer for his canonization was celebrated on 19^th October at 6.00 p.m. in the Church of Saint Stanisław Kostka in Warsaw. It was celebrated by H.E. Rt Rev. Tadeusz Pikus. The ceremony was attended by representatives from the Popiełuszko family, representatives of the government, local governments, numerous representations of regions and workplaces of NSZZ Solidarność (The National Solidarity movement), representatives of uniformed services and numerous institutions, as well as Father Jerzy's friends and associates. The Eucharist began with a solemn procession to the tomb of the martyr to the sound of the tolling George bell, consecrated in 1987 by Pope John Paul II. After the mass, wreaths were placed at the martyr's tomb.

Given the special occasion of the anniversary of the death of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, on 19^th October from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and after the Holy Mass, there was the opportunity in the a chapel for the faithful to view artifacts belonging to Fr Jerzy. These include the relics of the cassock, shirt and items that the chaplain of Solidarity had with him at the time of his death.

The day before, on the church premises, there was an open-air exhibition "The Decalogue of Father Jerzy" that was opened. It was created in cooperation with the Białystok Branch of the Institute of National Remembrance, the "Dobro" (Lit. Good) Foundation run by the Popiełuszko family, the Father Jerzy Popiełuszko Museum in Warsaw, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Podlaskie Voivodeship Self-government. This exhibition has so far been exhibited only in Rome at the Urbaniana University and in Białystok.

The celebrations are held under the National Patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, on the Centenary Poland of Regaining Independence, the partner of the event is the Solidarity Trade Union. The transmission of the Holy Mass on 19^th October at 6:00 p.m. was made through the Internet channels of the Archdiocese of Warsaw and Radio Maryja, as well as through the website www.popieluszko.net.pl.

Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, born in 1947 in Okopy in the Białystok region. After graduating from high school, he entered the Warsaw Seminary. As a seminarian, he served compulsory military service in a special clerical unit in Bartoszyce, where, in the face of communist indoctrination, he proved to be a steadfast defender of faith and values. After ordination in 1972, he served in several parishes in the Archdiocese of Warsaw. His main focus was youth ministry and health care. In the last years of his life, he served in the parish of St. Stanisław Kostka in Warsaw's Żoliborz, where he joined The Solidarity Movement and celebrated the monthly Holy Masses for the Homeland, gathering crowds of thousands around the church. During the time of Martial Law, Father Jerzy acted in the defence of the internees, and as a result he became the object of harassment and provocation by the services of the communist regime. On 19^th October, 1984, he made his last pastoral journey to the parish of the Holy Polish Martyred Brothers in Bydgoszcz. During his return trip, he was brutally murdered by officers of the Security Service, his tortured body was thrown into the Vistula River by the Włocławek dam. Father Jerzy's funeral, which took place on the 3^rd November 1984, gathered nearly a million people. Since 1984, the tomb of the martyr has been visited by nearly 23 million believers, including numerous cardinals, bishops, presidents and representatives of the world of culture. On the 6^th June 2010, Pope Benedict XVI beatified Father Jerzy Popiełuszko and in 2014 Pope Francis made him the patron of Solidarity.

Centre for The Documentation of the Life and Veneration of Bl. Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko