Ambassador Niels Lorijn together with representatives of the Order of Malta’s central government and Polish Association attended the beatification mass of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and Mother Elżbieta Róża Czacka at the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw.

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, led the ceremony, which was attended by about 7,000 people, including President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and many members of government.

Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, a Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Malta and a mentor to Pope St John Paul II, was Primate of Poland during most of the communist ear (1948-1981) and is considered by many a national hero.

Mother Róża Czacka, founder of the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Cross devoted her life to, and revolutionised care for, the visually impaired through the Society for the Care of the Blind, which she established in 1910.

Over 40 medical personnel and volunteers of the Order’s Polish relief organisation provided medical, ambulance and first-aid assistance during the event.