A 24-year-old man, identified as Michał O., killed six people and injured about fifteen in the Market Square of Kraków (Poland) on Saturday, November 7, shortly after 3:00 p.m. According to the police, the attacker drove a vehicle into the square and fired a burst from a rifle at people walking at random; he then fled down Grodzka Street toward Wawel and was shot and subdued in a shootout with two officers, who were also wounded. Prior to the attack, according to police reports, he had killed his parents and sister at the family home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.
Leo XIV, who is on an apostolic journey through Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, expressed his sorrow in a telegram signed by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and addressed to the Archbishop of Kraków, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś. In it, the Pope declares himself “deeply saddened” by the news of the dead and wounded, expresses his spiritual closeness “in the risen Christ” to all those affected, and joins those living these days of mourning. He also asks for the “gift of Christian hope” for the grieving families, invokes the Virgin as Queen of Poland, assures his prayers, sends the apostolic blessing, and urges perseverance “tirelessly in the search for peace and harmony,” according to the text of the telegram.
Ryś: “We must remain united”
Cardinal Ryś reacted from the first moment and called the faithful to a Mass for the deceased and for the recovery of the wounded. He said that violence, aggression, and hatred “have struck once again” at the city “in a way that exceeds all limits,” and that “we want, need, and must remain united.” He added that hope in God remains, with the certainty that “the last word does not belong and cannot belong to hatred.”
The celebration took place on Sunday, November 8, at 4:00 p.m. It had been announced in the Basilica of St. Mary, but was moved to the collegiate church of St. Anne, because the square and adjacent streets remained closed due to police and prosecutorial proceedings. In the homily, the archbishop stated that “the last word belongs to God, to life, and to love,” and not “to hatred, to death, or to dramas.” At the beginning of the Mass, he read the Pope’s letter.
Polish and Czech bishops express solidarity
The president of the Polish Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, expressed his “deep dismay” and assured his spiritual closeness to those affected, their families, the doctors, and the law enforcement officers. “We still do not know the causes or motives of such a cruel act,” he noted. For his part, the president of the Czech Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Josef Nuzík, wrote to Wojda to say that “in this painful moment” they stand in solidarity “with the Church of Kraków and with the entire Polish nation.”
The investigation and the political debate
The investigation remains open. Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that the case is being investigated, and President Karol Nawrocki conveyed his condolences. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński stated that “everything indicates he was fascinated by far-right ideologies.” That claim has been questioned by journalist Łukasz Warzecha, who asked on social media what the minister’s statement is based on and whether he already has the full investigative material, including the search of the residence and the examination of the perpetrator’s computer and phone.