Ukrainian knifeman kills priest, wounds four at Polish monastery; surviving priest urges no blame on all Ukrainians
On 24 September, a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen attacked people with a knife on the grounds of the Benedictine monastery in Jarosław, Poland, killing priest Stanisław Zbojnowicz and injuring four other people. Two days later, the injured priest Adrian, still bandaged and bruised, delivered a sermon publicly forgiving the attacker and asking Polish faithful not to hold the entire Ukrainian people responsible. A Polish court placed the suspect in three months of pretrial detention to be served in hospital, while Ukrainian officials, including President Zelensky, condemned the attack and stressed there was no national motive.
Key points
- 24 September: a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen, Ihor M., attacked people with a knife at the Benedictine monastery in Jarosław, Poland.
- Priest Stanisław Zbojnowicz was killed; four other people were injured, including priests Adrian and Marek.
- 26 September: the Jarosław District Court ordered Ihor M. held in pretrial detention for three months, to be served in hospital.
- Prosecutors charged the suspect with murder, attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm; he faces possible life imprisonment.
- Forensic psychiatrists found signs of an acute polymorphic psychotic disorder; his current condition prevents him from participating in interrogation.
- Two days after the attack, the abbey reopened and Father Adrian, bandaged and bruised, preached forgiveness and asked Poles not to blame all Ukrainians.
- President Zelensky called it a 'terrible crime'; Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, said preliminary data showed no national or ethnic motive.
What happened
On 24 September, a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen identified as Ihor M. attacked people with a knife on the grounds of the Benedictine Sisters' monastery on Benedyktyńska street in Jarosław, in southeastern Poland. Priest Stanisław Zbojnowicz was killed, and four other people, including priests Adrian and Marek, were injured; Father Marek was hospitalized and reported to be fighting for his life.
Before the attack, Ihor M. had arrived in Poland from Germany intending to return to Ukraine. At the Korczowa border crossing he was turned back for lacking a valid vehicle insurance policy, and his car was towed to Jarosław, where he followed it and later carried out the attack. Witnesses reported he had asked a priest for financial help hours earlier and been refused. Polish prosecutors charged him with murder, attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm, and on 26 September the District Court in Jarosław ordered him held in pretrial detention for three months, to be served in hospital. Forensic psychiatrists found signs of an acute polymorphic psychotic disorder, and his condition — severe psychomotor agitation and disordered thinking — did not allow him to participate in interrogation. A separate psychiatric assessment is to determine whether he was sane at the time of the attack. Media reported he faces possible life imprisonment.
Two days after the attack, the abbey reopened to worshippers. At the Saturday Mass on 26 September, the injured Father Adrian, with bandaged head and hand and visible bruises, delivered a sermon in which he publicly forgave the attacker — saying he spoke also on behalf of the deceased Father Stanisław — and asked Polish faithful not to blame the entire Ukrainian people for the act of one person. He urged the congregation to pray for the attacker so that he would 'receive the grace of conversion,' to pray for the deceased priest, for Father Marek, and for his own recovery, and called for the evil done at the abbey to be answered with goodness, love and forgiveness. He also recalled that after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainians had come to the abbey and received kindness from locals, and asked that such support not be in vain.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the total number of victims. Some report five people attacked in total (one killed and four injured); others report four victims (one killed and three injured) or five injured plus one killed. The discrepancy mainly reflects whether the killed priest is counted among the injured or the total.
Background
The monastery sits on Benedyktyńska street in Jarosław, Podkarpackie Voivodeship. The suspect had recently come to Poland from Germany with the intention of returning to Ukraine but was turned back at the Korczowa crossing for lacking vehicle insurance; his car was towed to Jarosław, where he followed it and later attacked the monastery. Witnesses said he had asked a priest for money hours before the attack and was refused. Polish media have reported an increase in attacks on Ukrainians in Poland in recent months amid strained bilateral relations over historical-memory disputes. In his sermon, Father Adrian noted that after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees had come to the abbey and received help from local residents, and asked that this attitude continue.