WARSAW, Poland (OSV News) — A priest was killed and four other people were wounded in a knife attack at a Catholic complex in southeastern Poland Sept. 24, prompting condolences from Poland and Ukraine and appeals from Church leaders not to allow the crime to fuel hatred.
Police said they detained a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen shortly after the attack at the Benedictine sisters’ abbey in Jaroslaw, a city about 20 miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine.
The violence erupted shortly before a morning Mass at the Church of St. Nicholas and St. Stanislaus, part of the Center for Christian Formation and Culture located on the abbey grounds.
Five people were stabbed — three priests and two laypeople, a man and a woman. Father Stanislaw Zbojniewicz died from his injuries. Two other priests remained in serious condition Sept. 25 after undergoing surgery and surviving the night, according to the director of the hospital in Jaroslaw.
Suspect arrested at the scene
Police said officers received the first report at about 9:30 a.m. and arrested the suspect at the scene. Prosecutors said they had not established a motive for the attack and still did not know how or why the suspect arrived at the abbey.
According to prosecutors, the suspect entered the abbey complex and went into its kitchen area, where the violence began, before the attack moved toward the church. Investigators said the knife used in the attack had been taken from the abbey kitchen.
Sister Barbara Dendor, superior of the Benedictine community in Jaroslaw, told Poland’s Catholic Information Agency, KAI, that the attack began shortly before Mass. She said one priest was stabbed before Father Marek Pienkowski, who had been hearing confessions, came out of the confessional and tried to intervene.
“He was also attacked and is in the hospital in serious condition,” Sister Barbara said. As of the morning of Sept. 25, Father Pienkowski and another injured priest remained hospitalized in serious condition. Both had undergone surgery, hospital director Lukasz Jerema told Wirtualna Polska news outlet.
Sister Barbara said Father Zbojniewicz, who worked at the center as an assistant and sacristan, was among those attacked. The Benedictine superior was not herself inside the church when the attack took place, and no sisters were present there at the time.
Children attending a preschool run by the Benedictines were safe, she said.
‘Our identity has been attacked’
“We are on the grounds of the abbey; we are neighbors. This is a blow to us as well,” Sister Barbara said. Describing the effect of the attack on the community, she added: “Our identity has been attacked.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack in a statement posted on social media.
“In the Convent of the Benedictine Sisters in Jaroslaw, a citizen of Ukraine committed a horrific crime. We are shocked by this evil,” Zelenskyy said. He expressed condolences to the family and loved ones of the slain priest and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
“The perpetrator of this evil must bear full responsibility in accordance with the law,” Zelenskyy said and called for a swift and thorough investigation into all the circumstances.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk likewise said the suspect would face “the full severity of Polish law,” while President Karol Nawrocki called for a rapid and thorough investigation.
A sensitive moment in Polish-Ukrainian relations
The attack comes at a sensitive moment in Polish-Ukrainian relations, after more than four years of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine and amid growing tensions in Poland over migration, wartime assistance and unresolved historical disputes.
Archbishop Adam Szal of Przemysl asked Catholics to pray for the dead priest, the wounded and their families, as well as for the attacker and his conversion.
“We should show solidarity with the whole community, with the families and with those who live there,” Archbishop Szal said shortly after the attack. He urged Catholics not to allow the violence to produce “hatred or hostility.”
In his statement, Archbishop Shal asked parishes throughout the archdiocese to gather for prayer Sept. 26. He called for “peace, unity and fraternity” and warned against those who might exploit the tragedy or incite hatred.
Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, president of the Polish bishops’ conference, also expressed condolences and said he was praying for the victims and the conversion of the perpetrator.
Katarzyna Szalajko writes for OSV News from Warsaw, Poland.
