The body of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the Solidarity chaplain murdered by communist Secret Service in 1984, was exhumed, Wednesday. 

The exhumation was performed in order to collect fragments of the priest’s bones as relics as part of the process of turning the Solidarity priest into a saint.

After the exhumation the remains of Father Popieluszko were laid in a tomb at St. Stanislaw Kostka church in Warsaw, where they previously rested and where they will remain even after the priest’s beatification on the 6 June, the first major stage in becoming a saint. 

“The Church glorifies the saints but at the same time takes care of their earthly remains and relics,” said Szczepan T. Kraskiewicz from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Jerzy Popiełuszko was abducted, tortured and murdered in October 1984 by communist functionaries. Fr. Jerzy was considered a martyr for the faith already at the time of his death, and was frequently mentioned as such by Pope John Paul II. (mg/pg)