The Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Cardinal William Joseph Lewada hopes for a very speedy beatification of Father Jerzy Popieluszko.

During a visit to Warsaw, the Cardinal, together with the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Archbishop Angelo Amato, prayed at the grave of the Solidarity priest, who was murdered by the communist secret police in 1984.

Archbishop Amato told those gathered at the grave that Solidarity priest was a great hero and a witness to Christ and the Gospel to the very end. The beatification process of the Solidarity priest started in 1997. Upon its completion in 2001, all the materials were sent to the Vatican.

The Vatican officials also toured a museum documenting the priest’s life and work. It is located in the vaults of St Stanislaus Church, in Warsaw’s Zoliborz district, where Popieluszko worked and is buried. (mk/mmj)