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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
One of the priests injured in a knife attack by a Ukrainian man at a Catholic abbey in Poland last week – which left one of his colleagues dead and another fighting for his life in hospital – has delivered a homily calling for people to forgive the attacker and not to blame Ukrainians as a whole for his actions.
“I ask you not to repay evil with evil, but with love, support, understanding and care,” said a visibly injured Father Adrian Mantykiewicz. “I ask you to respect and support each other as two brotherly nations.”
🙏 Poruszające słowa ks. Adriana po ataku nożownika w Opactwie w Jarosławiu. W swojej pierwszej homilii po napaści duchowny mówił o przebaczeniu, miłości do bliźniego i odpowiadaniu dobrem nawet na doznaną krzywdę. pic.twitter.com/zGEGvC5meB
— Goniec.pl (@GoniecPL) September 28, 2026
On Thursday last week, a 31-year-old Ukrainian man, who can be named only as Ihor H. under Polish privacy law, entered the grounds of the Benedictine abbey in the town of Jarosław.
Using a knife he took from a kitchen, he attacked five people before he was stopped. One priest, Stanisław Zbojnowicz, died from his injuries shortly afterwards. Another, Marek Pieńkowski, is still being treated in hospital.
Ihor H. was arrested at the scene and, on Saturday, a court approved a request from prosecutors for him to be placed in detention for three months. For now, he is being held in a psychiatric facility, with prosecutors saying that he “displayed symptoms of mental illness”.
President @Zelensky has condemned an "evil" knife attack by a Ukrainian man at a Catholic abbey in Poland today, which left a priest dead and others injured
Polish Prime Minister @donaldtusk says the perpetrator will face the “full severity of Polish law” https://t.co/SIonlR4JpJ
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 24, 2026
On Saturday, in a church that is part of the Benedictine abbey complex, Mantykiewicz celebrated the Eucharist for Zbojnowicz. With bruising under his left eye and bandages on his head and hand, he delivered a homily in which he addressed the attack, its victims, and the perpetrator.
“I am a disciple of my master, a disciple of my lord, and Christ teaches me love,” he said. “And from this place, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I wish to say very clearly in my name, in the name of Father Marek, and in the name of Father Stanisław, that we forgive.”
“I ask you to pray for our tormentor,” he continued. “He needs this prayer most of all. Because no matter what happened, we must overcome the evil that occurred here in our abbey with goodness, love, and forgiveness.”
Mantykiewicz also appealed for people not to blame Ukrainians more broadly for the incident. There have been fears that the attack could prompt a backlash against Ukrainians, Poland’s largest immigrant group, who have already been experiencing a growing number of hate crimes this year.
“I also want to ask you not to blame the nation from which the perpetrator came,” said the priest. “The evil was committed by a specific person…responsible for their own actions. It was not done by other people. It was one person, one person alone.”
“Let us be disciples of Christ. Disciples who help others with love, care, respect, help and kindness,” he continued. “It does not matter who they are, what nation they come from, what religion they are, or what colour their skin is; they are human beings…and we must not deprive anyone of their dignity.”
On Friday, the head of the Polish Catholic church’s council for migrants and refugees, Bishop Krzysztof Zadarko, gave a press conference at which he condemned the “outpouring of aggression and artificially stoked hatred towards Ukrainians that this event [in Jarosław] has fuelled”.
“The church can only appeal to the consciences, primarily of Catholics and Christians, but also of all people, that this is not the right response; it is downright reprehensible, and incompatible with the Gospel,” he added, quoted by broadcaster RMF.
“We are dealing with a tremendous tragedy, but shifting the blame of one person onto an entire society, ethnic group, or nationality is wrong,” he added.
Agresja i niechęć do kogokolwiek jest nie do pogodzenia z wiarą chrześcijańską – mówił przewodniczący Rady KEP ds. Migrantów i Uchodźców bp Krzysztof Zadarko podczas konferencji prasowej przed 112. Światowym Dniem Migranta i Uchodźcy.https://t.co/M46RXggVTR pic.twitter.com/uZWodfR7sG
— EpiskopatNews (@EpiskopatNews) September 25, 2026
Thursday’s attack caused widespread shock and mourning in Poland, and also prompted condolences from Ukraine, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said that “we are shocked by this evil”.
On Saturday, Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, told broadcaster TVN that he had spoken with Ihor M.’s mother and was able to provide more information about him.
He confirmed that the man had left Ukraine in 2022 and lived in Germany. Bodnar, however, said that media reports claiming Ihor M. had served in the Ukrainian military were false.
Regarding the motive, Bodnar said that it appears Ihor M. “had some kind of mental illness”. He pledged that the Ukrainian authorities would cooperate and were “working on all the information we can provide to the Polish side”.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Paweł Kęska/Facebook
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
