The last journey of Fr. Stanisław Zbojnowicz

The last journey of Fr. Stanisław Zbojnowicz

Funeral celebrations of Fr. Stanisław Zbojnowicz are held in the parish church of St. Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Grzęska in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship.

Fr. Stanisław Zbojnowicz died as a result of a knife attack in the Benedictine Sisters' Abbey in Jarosław. The tragedy occurred on September 24.

The attacker turned out to be a Ukrainian citizen who had escaped from Germany to Poland the night before the incident. The 31-year-old stabbed four men and a woman. One of the priests, Fr. Stanisław Zbojnowicz, did not survive the attack.

The knifeman is in a psychiatric hospital

Ihor M.'s condition does not allow him to be interrogated and charged, Małgorzata Taciuch-Kurasiewicz, spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Przemyśl, said on Friday. Experts found he had "severe psychotic symptoms." The court imposed a three-month pre-trial detention on the Ukrainian citizen. He is in hospital.

On Saturday, a silent march took place in Jarosław in memory of the murdered priest. Stanisław Zbojnowicz. Crowds of residents gathered in the market square. Earlier, there was a service during which the homily was delivered by Fr. Adrian, who was slightly injured during Thursday's attack. After receiving medical assistance, he left the hospital. The priest appealed not to attribute responsibility for the act to the entire nation the suspect comes from.

We forgive and ask for prayer for us, but in a special way I am asking you to pray for our perpetrator and for the grace of conversion for him. He needs this prayer the most. We must overcome the evil that happened in our abbey with love and forgiveness, said Fr. Adrian.

I am asking you not to blame the nation the perpetrator was from, because the evil was committed by a specific person. Let us not respond with hatred, but with love, support, understanding and care, he emphasized during the sermon.