At St. Joseph’s Church on the Kahlenberg, the wife of the Polish president, together with the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Vienna, Zenon Kosiniak-Kamysz, and the State Secretary and Head of the Presidential Chancellery, Paweł Szefernaker, laid a wreath at the foot of the statue of King Jan III Sobieski. Sejm members Piotr Głowski, Kazimierz Gołojuch, and Ewa Schädler represented the Polish Parliament at the ceremony.
The solemn concelebrated Mass was presided over by, among others, the Military Bishop of the Polish Armed Forces, Wiesław Lechowicz, and the rector of the Kahlenberg Church, Father Roman Krekora, CR. In addition to representatives of the Polish Armed Forces and military attachés from various nations, a representative of the Turkish Cultural Community in Austria also attended the service. During the celebrations, Bishop Lechowicz awarded Father Roman Krekora the “Gloria Intrepidis et animi promptis” medal for his many years of dedication to the shrine.
Afterward, the First Lady attended a Memorial Roll Call (Apel Pamięci) organized by the 11th Lubusz Armored Cavalry Division, named after King Jan III Sobieski.
A Double Occasion and a Commitment to Peace
This year’s celebrations took on special significance: In addition to the historic anniversary, the reopening of St. Joseph’s Church following a comprehensive renovation was celebrated at the same time. Furthermore, it marked the 43rd anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Kahlenberg in 1983.
During the commemoration, Marta Nawrocka also paid tribute to the Polish victims of Nazism at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp. On behalf of the Polish President, she laid a wreath at the symbolic memorial for the murdered Poles, which contains soil from the Mauthausen-Gusen camp and is located in St. Joseph’s Church.
The commemoration of King Jan III Sobieski’s victory in 1683, which had a decisive impact on European history, remains to this day a central element of our shared European cultural heritage. In his sermon, Bishop Lechowicz also used this historic site to issue a call for peace to the global community.