Polish Government-in-Exile Mourns Metropolitan Sheptytsky

The following statement from Minister of Religion and Education, Monsignor Zygmunt Kaczyński, appeared on the front page of Dziennik Polski and L'Osservatore Romano, respectively the principal news organs of the Polish Government-in-Exile in London and of the Holy Apostolic See:

"The loss of Metropolitan Sheptytsky is grave as much for Poles as for the Ukrainian peoples of Poland. The deceased combined in his person the eminent qualities of pastor of souls and patriot. Throughout forty-years of intense activity, he efficaciously contributed to the development of the religious and cultural life of the entire [Polish] nation and, understanding the absolute necessity, he constantly strove to bring Ukrainians to Poles closer together, on the frontiers of the their common homeland. During the occupation, Metropolitan Sheptytsky maintained his constant line of conduct, concerned as always for so many suffering people. In his pastoral letters, he always encouraged the faithful and his fellow citizens to maintain cohesion, deploring their fratricidal conflicts. We unite, the minister concluded, with the Ruthenian [Ukrainian] Catholics of the district of Lwów, who have been left orphaned of their Shepherd, and we mourn the loss of such an eminent personality and pray ardently for the repose of this chosen soul."

— “Per la Morte di Mons. Szeptyckyj,” in Osservatore Romano (15 November 1944), p.1. cfr. "Minister ks. Kaczyński o śp. Metr. Szeptickim," in Dziennik Polski i Dziennik Zołniera (10 November 1944), p. 1.

Monsignor Kaczyński later returned to Poland, was arrested by the Communists in 1948 and 1951, and was executed in prison on 13 May 1953.