Polish priest dies after knife attack at historic Benedictine abbey in Jarosław

A 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen has been detained in connection with the attack, while officers remain at the scene investigating what led up to the incident.

Staff Sergeant Anna Długosz, of the District Police Headquarters in Jarosław, said: “Today, at approximately 9:30 am, police officers received a report that a Ukrainian citizen had attacked a man with a knife on the premises of the Jarosław Abbey, i.e. on Benedyktyńska Street in Jarosław.”

Police officers who arrived at the abbey found four men and one woman suffering injuries after being stabbed in the incident.

Officers arrested a 31-year-old Ukrainian national at the scene, according to Bozena Harasz-Woloszyn of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Przemysl.

The suspect had entered Poland from Germany earlier that day.

The attack took place at a Benedictine Sisters’ monastery within the grounds of the abbey, according to local media.

Ms Harasz-Woloszyn said three of the victims were clergy members and two were laypeople.

“One person has died,” she said, confirming that two of those injured remained in a “critical, life-threatening condition”.

Sister Barbara Dendor told state broadcaster TVP Info that there was “total panic” when she arrived at the scene.

“Young people who had come out of the centre witnessed it – they were saying, ‘Some madman, some madman!’” she said.

Another eyewitness told local television station TVN that a man aged around 30 had attacked the priest in the neck.

“The priest fell to the ground,” the unnamed Polish woman said.

The motive for the attack remains unclear.

Poland’s Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski described the incident as “tragic”. In a post on X, he said the suspect would “answer for this act with the full severity of Polish law”.

“Psychological support is being provided on-site to those who witnessed this murder,” he added.

Jaroslaw Mayor Marcin Nazarewicz told a press conference that a period of mourning would be observed until the end of the week.

Poland, a close ally of neighbouring Ukraine, has taken in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion.

The country has also experienced social tensions involving the Ukrainian community in recent months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as “horrific”, adding: “We are shaken by this evil.”

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” he wrote in a post on X.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki also expressed his condolences to the priest’s family, writing on X that “the principles and values of our community must be respected by all those residing in our country”.

Staff Sergeant Długosz added: “Witnesses are being interviewed at the scene, an inspection is underway, and we are establishing all the circumstances of the incident.”

Jarosław Mayor Marcin Nazarewicz said: "The crisis management team has now informed schools, offices, and parishes that such an incident occurred and that they should be more vigilant about who enters the buildings."

He added: “According to the information I received from the services, three priests and two lay people were injured.

"The attack took place in a church, so there are eyewitnesses to the entire incident.”