At the conclusion of his regular weekly public audience on October
19, Pope Francis paid tribute to Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the
“Solidarity priest” whose feast day the Church celebrated that day.
Father Popieluszko “personally expounded the cause of workers and
their families, asking for justice and dignified living conditions,
civil liberty and the religious freedom for his homeland,” the Pope
recalled.
He reminded the audience of the Polish priest’s motto, taken
from St. Paul: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good.”
Father Popieluszko, a highly visible supporter of the Solidarity
labor movement, was kidnapped on October 19, 1984; his battered body was
found in a reservoir nearly two weeks later.
Four agents of the Polish
secret-police force were convicted of the killing.
More than 400,000
people attended his funeral.
Father Popieluszko was beatified in 2010.
A miracle attributed to his
intercession has subsequently been reported; if confirmed it would
fulfill the requirements for his canonization.