Pope Leo XIV mourns Kraków mass shooting, expresses 'spiritual closeness' to victims
Pope Leo XIV expressed sorrow over a mass shooting in Poland that killed six people and wounded more than a dozen after a gunman opened fire in Kraków’s Main Market Square, one of the country’s major tourist destinations.
In the pope’s Nov. 8 telegram, the pontiff said he was “deeply saddened upon learning of the deaths and injuries caused by the shooting that took place in Kraków,” and expressed “his spiritual closeness in the Risen Christ to all those affected by this tragedy.”
The telegram — signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and addressed to Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, the archbishop of Kraków — invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary, who was bestowed with the title of Queen of Poland in 1656.
The message also stated that the Holy Father is praying “for the gift of Christian hope for the grieving families and joins in spirit with all those experiencing these days of mourning.”
Pope Leo XIV offered assurances of his prayers and imparted his Apostolic Blessing, calling for people to persevere “in the pursuit of peace and harmony.”
A gunman drove into Kraków’s main square on Saturday and randomly shot at passersby. The 24-year-old gunman, identified as Michał Oksiński, killed six people and wounded 15 before police shot and stopped him, the Associated Press reported.
Four women and two men were killed in the shooting, including a man from the United Kingdom and a woman from Austria.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński described the shooter’s views as radical and said he was fascinated by far-right ideologies. However, authorities have not said what motivated the gunman to carry out the attack.
According to police, Oksiński died Monday morning at a hospital after several surgeries. The two officers who stopped him remain hospitalized but regained consciousness Monday, the AP reported.
Kraków police spokesperson Katarzyna Cisło said the gunman kept firing even after police wounded him. Prosecutors have also said they are investigating the shooting as a terrorist offense.
Police recovered four firearms from the suspect and from his car at the scene of Saturday’s attack — two semi-automatic rifles and two pistols. Local officials also reported that seven weapons were seized from the suspect’s family home.
Authorities also found the bodies of the suspect’s parents and sister at his home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. They determined that the three died of gunshot wounds and were killed Saturday morning or the night before the shooting.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
