The funeral of Bronislaw Geremek, Polish statesman and Solidarity activist, who died on July 13 in a car crash, took place in Warsaw today.

The funeral service began at noon with a mass in the John the Baptist Cathedral in Warsaw. Despite the rain, throngs of people gathered in front of the church to say goodbye to the Polish politician.

At the beginning of the service, a special telegram from Pope Benedict XVI was read out, in which his Holiness expressed his sorrow at the death of Professor Geremek and described it as a great loss for Poland and Europe.

During the ceremony, fellow Solidarity activist Lech Walesa gave an address:

"Bronek, I always called you that, so let it stay that way. You were the greatest among Poles."

The former president also recalled how he met with Geremek at the shipyard in Gdansk during the strikes of 1980, and said that the victory over the communist system could not have happened without the professor.

The professor's family attended the mass, as well as President Lech Kaczynski, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Poettering, former presidents Lech Walesa and Aleksander Kwasniewski, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, former prime ministers Jozef Oleksy, Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Jerzy Buzek, along with the parliament speakers and members of the government, as well as other politicians from all sides of the Polish political scene.

Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski, who co-celebrated the mass with Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz, said:

"Professor Bronislaw Geremek, despite his dramatic experiences, loved people and worked for them all his life. Today, a saddened Europe and a grateful fatherland say goodbye to him."

The archbishop stressed Professor Geremek's humanism and his devotion to peace and freedom in Europe, as well as his trust in people.

Hans-Gert Poettering said before the funeral that not only Poles, but al Europeans are honouring Bronislaw Geremek. The EP President described Geremek as a great personality, a great patriot and a great European. He also said that he valued Professor Germek very much and thought him one of the best MEPs in the European Parliament.

On Tuesday, the Polish parliament is to honour Geremek with five minutes of silence and a special resolution. There are also plans to name one of the rooms in the parliament building after the deceased politician.

Geremek, aged 76, died in a car crash near Nowy Tomysl, western Poland, July 13. He was a former Solidarity activist and one of the architects of democratic change in Poland. Later on, he became Member of the Polish Parliament three times and in years 1997-2000 served as the minister of foreign affairs under PM Jerzy Buzek. He later moved on to the European Parliament. (mo)