Pope Leo Mourns Kraków Dead, Calls for Concord
Through Cardinal Parolin he assures spiritual closeness and the Apostolic Blessing as Poland observes two days of mourning.
On November 8, Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram of condolence to Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, Archbishop of Kraków, after the shooting that killed six people and wounded fifteen others on Kraków’s Main Market Square the day before.
Signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, the message states that the Pope is “profoundly saddened” by the deaths and injuries and “expresses his spiritual closeness in Christ Risen to all those affected by this tragedy.” Invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland, he “implores the gift of Christian hope” for families “overwhelmed by grief,” joins those living these days of mourning, assures them of his prayer, imparts the Apostolic Blessing, and urges them to “persevere tirelessly in the search for peace and concord.” The text was issued in Polish by the Holy See Press Office, with an Italian translation.
Attack and national mourning
Investigators say the 24-year-old suspect, Michal Oksinski, is believed to have acted alone. He is also reported to have killed his parents and his sister. Poland’s interior minister has described a profile linked to right-wing extremism. The country has proclaimed two days of national mourning.
Prayer from England and Wales
On the same day, Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster, president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, sent a message of prayerful support to the acting head of mission at the Polish Embassy in London on behalf of the Catholic community there. He prayed “for those who have died and their families and loved ones” and for the police and emergency services, and said the Polish community in England and Wales is remembered in prayers for peace.
Polish Church leaders have spoken of the horror of the attack. Cardinal Ryś has said something “terrible” happened and that “hatred has not and will never have the last word.” Archbishop Wojda, president of the Polish bishops’ conference, said he was “shocked” by “an act of exceptional brutality.” Full statements and any formal nationwide call to prayer from the Polish episcopate were not available.
The Holy Father’s appeal for Christian hope and tireless pursuit of peace and concord places the tragedy within the Church’s constant witness that violence does not have the final word when hearts turn to Christ Risen and to Mary, Queen of Poland.