By Fr Peter Groody

Fr Jerzv Popielusko

Jerzy was ordained by Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski on 28 May 1972. By the end of May in 1978 Fr Jerzy's health was breaking down. When he was Parish Priest of the church of the Infant Jesus in Zoliborz, a district of Warsaw, he collapsed while saying Mass. To aid his recovery he was sent to a Parish attached to the university where he became Chaplain to the Medical students. In May of 1980 he was moved to the parish of St Stanislaus Kostka, the students went with him. He also became Chaplain to the Nurses and the Doctors of Warsaw. This gave him a base from which to promote life issues.

During the first visit to Poland by the newly elected John-Paul II, Fr Jerzy again came to the notice of the Authorities because of an incident at a Papal Mass. A letter was being taken to the Pope by three young girls during the Offertory procession. The letter was taken from them by the Secret Police. Fr Jerzy saw this and jumped a barrier, retrieved the letter and gave it back to the girls. In August 1980 Fr Jerzy was asked to become Chaplain to the steel works in Warsaw. This was during the first Solidarity strikes. Fr Jerzy stayed with the workers day and night, celebrating Mass and hearing their confessions.

In May 1983 the brutal murder of a young student, Grzegorz Przemyk, by the Security Police was condemned publicly by Fr Popielusko. During a sermon at his monthly Mass for the Fatherland he spoke of the outrages being inflicted on the people of Poland, the use of water cannons and physical violence against Solidarity members and a raid on a Franciscan Convent. He went on to say 'this was too little for Satan. So he went further and committed a crime so terrible that the whole of Warsaw was struck dumb with shock. He cut short an innocent young life. In bestial fashion he took away a mothers only son.' He concluded his sermon with the words 'This nation is not forced to its knees by any satanic power. This nation has proved that it bends the knee only to God. And for that reason we believe that God will stand up for it.'

This was when the persecution of Fr Popielusko was intensified. His flat was raided, he spent nights in prison, his car was vandalised and the secret police attended all his Masses taking notes during his sermons.The first attempt on Fr Jerzy's life took place on 13 October 1984. Fr Jerzy and his driver were travelling on the Gdansk-Warsaw road when a man jumped out and tried to throw something at the car, which would have caused it to crash. The driver swerved the car and the 'accident' was avoided. A week later Fr Popielusko was invited to celebrate Mass at a town in northern Poland called Bydgoszcz. He was warned that there would be 'serious consequences' if he preached at the Mass.Instead of preaching he led the people in a meditation on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary after Mass. His final words were very appropriate: 'In order to defeat evil with good, in order to preserve the dignity of man, one must not use violence. It is the person who has failed to win on the strength of his heart and his reason who tries to win by force... Let us pray that we may be free from fear and intimidation, but above all from lust for revenge and violence.'

On the journey home the car was stopped for a 'routine' police check. When the driver was arrested, Fr Jerzy protested. The 'police' beat him senseless with clubs and their fists and threw him into the boot of their car and drove off. Fr Jerzy recovered consciousness and began to shout and bang on the boot of the car. They stopped to gag him but Fr Jerzy managed to escape. He was recaptured and again beaten with clubs. A second time he regained consciousness and this time the officers tied him with ropes around his neck and ankles in such a way that if he moved his feet the rope would tighten around his neck. They also stuffed his mouth with material and secured it with sticking plaster, which also covered his nose thus restricting his breathing even more. The senior officer ordered that stones should be tied to his feet and returned him to the car boot.

They then drove to a dam on the Wisia River where they removed Fr Jerzy from the boot and threw him into the water. Forensic experts later stated that at this point he may have still been alive. The body of Fr Popielusko was retrieved ten days later from the Wloclawek Resevoir. The body was covered with deep wounds. His face was unrecognisable, his jaw, nose, mouth and skull were smashed. He was identified by his brother from a birthmark to the side of his chest. One of the doctors who performed the post mortem said that he had never seen such violent injuries. There was blood in his lungs and his kidneys and intestines were reduced to a pulp.

Fr Jerzy was buried in the churchyard at St Stanislaus Kostka. His grave has been visited by many leading statesmen and in June 1987 Pope John-Paul knelt to pray at the grave of the martyred Priest. The cause for his beatification was opened by Cardinal Glemp on 8th February 1997.

Further reading: 'Jerzy Popieluszko, Victim of Communism.' CTS 20th Century Martyrs series.
'To Kill a Priest. The murder of Father Popielusko and the fall of Communism' by Kevin Ruane, Gibson Square Books 2004.