FATHER JERZY POPIEŁUSZKO, THE PATRON OF CONTEMPORARY FREEDOM Pastoral Letter of the Polish Bishops' Conference
FATHER JERZY POPIEŁUSZKO, THE PATRON SAINT OF CONTEMPORARY FREEDOM
Pastoral Letter of the Polish Bishops’ Conference
40 years ago, in October 1984, Father Jerzy Popiełuszko was murdered by functionaries of the Security Service of the People's Republic of Poland. The priest, who became a symbol of concern for the fate of the homeland, was proclaimed Blessed in 2010. Through his life, God's plan of salvation was being realised. In his words and decisions, therefore, one can look for a holiness that transcends its era. Can Father Jerzy still be imitated? Is his era very different from ours?
Towards the priesthood
Father Popiełuszko came from the Podlasie village of Okopy. His parents' deep faith and the hardships of everyday life shaped the strength of his character. At home he learnt to distinguish good from evil, truth from falsehood, and he learnt to respect people. His mother was starting daily prayer. The future priest was inspired by the person of Father Maximilian Kolbe, so after high school graduation, in 1965, he applied to the Warsaw seminary.
In the opinion of his seminarian colleagues, Popiełuszko stood out neither for his extraordinary prayer nor for his studies. His two-year compulsory service in a clerical military unit became a great trial. Throughout society, in exchange for renouncing values, promotions were tempted or holy peace was offered. Those who did not recognise the socialist order faced persecution. Clerics were subjected to indoctrination, religious practices were forbidden. Popiełuszko perhaps did not understand the great forces of evil he was resisting. Every day, he prayed aloud persistently and refused to give up his medallion and rosary. In one letter, he wrote that he could have avoided persecution in exchange for compromises, but he wanted to live more deeply. So he was humiliated and subjected to brutal pressure. However, he retained his inner freedom and even attracted many colleagues. Later, his entire priestly life became a field of dramatic struggle for fundamental values in human life and society.
Chaplain of the steelworkers
He was ordained priest by Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in May 1972. For the first few years he carried out his usual ministry as a vicar priest in several parishes. He preached, heard confessions, baptised, and was involved in the pastoral care of nurses and medical students. In 1980, he became a resident of St Stanislaus Kostka parish in Warsaw. In August of that year, the whole Poland was flooded by a wave of Solidarity strikes. The priest, then 33 years old, was asked by workers from the Warsaw Steelworks to celebrate a field Mass for them. He later wrote: “I heard confessions of people who, tired to the point of exhaustion, were kneeling on the cobblestones. And there I think these people understood that they are strong, they are strong precisely in unity with God, with the Church”. Communism took away their right to property, imposed a new vision of history and an atheistic system of values. However, man needs more than holy peace. He seeks truth, his own identity and freedom. He needs to know who he is and where he came from, he needs faith and love. After celebrating this Mass, the priest opened the doors of his home wide for the steelworkers. The working people’s ministry he created grew month by month.
The voice of freedom
On 13 December 1981, the government of the People’s Republic of Poland imposed martial law. Many of Father Popiełuszko's friends were arrested and subjected to repression. “I was with them in the time of triumph, I remained with them and in the black night of December", said the priest. He was one of the first to organise an information exchange point for the internees in Warsaw, he attended the court hearings of the steelworkers. His flat was turned into a charity aid depot and his door was always open to those in need. From February 1982 he began to celebrate monthly Masses for the Fatherland. He was very close to the people, carrying their burdens and dramas. His hitherto humble sermons became extremely penetrating and took on great power. He reminded us that all crises stem from a lack of truth, and that in order to live in the truth one must overcome fear. Father Popiełuszko reminded people of the true history of Poland and stood up for the disadvantaged. Tens of thousands of worshippers from all over Poland flocked to Żoliborz, and many conversions and adult baptisms were recorded. Participants of the Masses for the Homeland returned home free from fear and hatred, with a sense of dignity and hope.
Wherever his voice reached, there the communist system, ruled by fear and manipulation, lost influence. So the Communists set in motion the machinery of persecution. They began to spy on him, bugging his flat, sending agents posing as friends. Explosives were thrown into his house, he was threatened with death, his car was damaged. He was planted with illegal material, arrested, defamed in the media. Despite his torment, the priest did not allow himself to be intimidated; moreover, he gained the rank of moral authority and symbol of freedom in Poland and abroad. The communists decided to kill him. The steelworkers' chaplain repeatedly told his relatives that he was expecting an attempt on his life. Popiełuszko also said that he was ready for anything and that followers of Christ should be able to give their lives for the truth.
Mission after death
On 19 October 1984, Father Jerzy Popiełuszko said at a meeting of the Working People's Chaplaincy in Bydgoszcz: “Let us pray that we may be free from fear, intimidation, but above all from the lust for retaliation and violence”. These were his last public words, a kind of testament in which he prayed for freedom and forgave the guilty. On his way home, he was kidnapped by Security Service officers and bestially beaten. His body was thrown into the Vistula River. The farewell to Father Jerzy Popieluszko, which took place at Warsaw's St Stanislaus Kostka Church, was the largest funeral ceremony in Poland's history. Between 600,000 and one million participants manifested peace and forgiveness, which shocked once again the communist system, which had prepared that day for a brutal crackdown on the crowd.
During the beatification process, witnesses were asked whether Father Popiełuszko had any extraordinary spiritual powers or charisms. They all answered in the negative. He was an ordinary man, like all of us. His way, his prayer, his choice of truth, his forgiveness are available to each of us. It is the way to transform ourselves and the world, the way to the kingdom of God. Many people today write about inner transformation, about graces experienced through the intercession of the Blessed. People give thanks for deliverance from depression, addictions, for settling disputes in the family, for healings. Father Jerzy continues to help people with passion, just as he did in his lifetime. His mission of freeing people’s hearts to live in truth and freedom is intensifying. Nearly 23 million people have prayed at his tomb to date. His relics are venerated in 1,800 places on six continents. The humble figure of the priest has transcended geographical, cultural and generational boundaries. He has become the patron saint of Solidarity, of persecuted Christians, and of societies struggling against totalitarianism, consumerism and the chaos of values. Above all, Popiełuszko is the patron saint of people who want to live a worthwhile life. He is also the patron saint of young people, as a guide in a complicated world of half-truths, conflicts, fear and hatred.
In the world of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko there was a dispute over values. Communism falsified history, used lies, and violently deprived people of their freedom. The dispute over values is still ongoing. Freedom without God and without truth is today becoming an appealing caricature of freedom for some. Manipulation brings chaos, division and hatred. Fear must still be overcome. In the year of the 40th anniversary of the martyrdom of Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, let us ask God for the gift of truth and freedom in our hearts, in our homeland, and in the world. Let us also ask for the canonisation of the blessed, humble priest from Podlasie, so that his witness may reach the whole world.
Signed by: The Shepherds of the Catholic Church in Poland
present at the 398th Plenary Assembly of the Polish Bishops' Conference, in Warsaw, on 10 June 2024.
The letter is to be read on Sunday, 29 September 2024.
