Polish priest offers forgiveness after fatal abbey stabbing

Father Adrian Mantykiewicz returned to celebrate Mass at the Benedictine sisters’ abbey in Jaroslaw, Poland, following a September 24 knife attack that left several people wounded and one dead. During the service, Father Mantykiewicz issued a message of forgiveness on behalf of himself and his fellow priests.

The attack resulted in the death of Father Stanislaw Zbojniewicz. Father Marek Pienkowski was reported to be in serious but stable condition following the incident. The suspect is identified as a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen.

In his homily, Father Mantykiewicz urged the community to pray for the attacker’s conversion and cautioned against directing hostility toward the Ukrainian community in Poland. He emphasized that the crime was the act of a specific individual rather than a reflection of a nation, stating, “Whatever happened, the evil that took place here in our abbey, we must overcome with goodness, love and forgiveness.”