Though nowhere near as remarkable as most sights in Bydgoszcz, The Church of Holy Polish Martyrs is an important building in modern Polish history.
A wholly unremarkable building with an extraordinary story hidden within its plain concrete walls, Poland's first church to acquire a building permit from the post-WWII communist authorities is nothing much to look at, but is nonetheless steeped in fascinating contemporary history. Built between 1976 and 1984, the church was originally dedicated to all the Poles who gave up their lives for their faith and country but who were never beatified. Consecrated in 1986, and at the time Bydgoszcz's unofficial Solidarity church, this was the site of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko's (1947-1984) last ever Holy Mass. Popiełuszko was a fiercely anti-communist cleric whose words and actions made him a prime target for the security services, who built a false case against him that led to his arrest in 1983. Uproar ensued and he was soon released, but his troubles were far from over. An attempt to murder Popiełuszko on October 13, 1984 ended in failure, but on his way from this church to Warsaw on October 19 he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. His body was found in a nearby reservoir 11 days later. National outrage soon followed, and the perpetrators and one of their superiors were subsequently convicted of the crime. Father Jerzy Popiełuszko's funeral on November 3, 1984 was attended by an estimated quarter of a million people, among them Lech Wałęsa. Popiełuszko was beatified in June, 2010, with over 100,000 people attending an open air mass in Warsaw to celebrate his deserved elevation to sainthood.
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