The main ceremony begun at midday in Inowrocław, central Poland. The event will be followed by an official opening of the Józef Glemp Primate Institute located there. The most trying times of his service fell on the 1980s, said the cardinal:

"It was the time of martial law, the death of Father Jerzy Popieluszko. Then came the attacks on crosses and on the Auschwitz memorial site; controversies arose surrounding the 1941 Jedwabne massacre. All these events were difficult, but I think we lived through them with dignity."

The title will be passed on to Archbishop Henryk Muszyński, who will, however, step down in three months, when he turns 77. Under the canon law, he will resign from the post of metropolitan, which automatically means relinquishing the title of primate. After 17 years, the title is returning to the Gniezno metropolitan, upon the decision of Benedict XVI. It is where Poland’s first Metropolitan Archdiocese was established in 1000. (ab)