This post is dedicated to Blessed Father Jerzy as much as to the church.
The church is the well-known Sanctuary of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, who was the spiritual leader of Solidarność and was killed by the Communists in 1984.
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Warsaw is the final resting place of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko.
Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko was a leading voice during Glasnost speaking out against the totalitarian Communist regime.
From 1980 he conducted very popular Masses for the Fatherland that became a kind of manifesto for the social movement and protesters, attracting people from all around Poland. On October 19, 1984, Father Jerzy was kidnapped and beaten to death by three Security Police officers. His body was found two weeks later in the Vistula Water Reservoir near Włocławek.
Father Jerzy has been recognized as a martyr by the Roman Catholic Church, and was beatified on 6 June 2010 in Warsaw’s Piłsudski Square. More than 100,000 people attended the open-air Mass in the Polish capital Warsaw to beatify Father Jerzy Popieluszko.
Father Jerzy was buried at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, his tomb is situated beside the church. The site was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1987. An estimated 20,000,000 people from over 100 countries have visited.
The church itself is a beautiful building. It was the first major stop on our pilgrimage to Poland. The church, grounds and Father Jerzy’s story were an unexpected surprise within our trip.
Beside Father Jerzy’s tomb, the grounds also house a museum dedicated to Poland’s fight against Communism and all those who died fighting for freedom.
Watch his story in the movie, “Popiełuszko: Freedom is within” on FORMED. Though in polish with subtitles, I highly recommend this movie.