BREAKING Priest Injured in Convent Stabbing Attack Returns to Church with Message of Forgiveness and Prayer for the Assailant ""I ask you not to repay evil with evil, but with love"

Wounded Polish Priest Returns to Altar with Message of Forgiveness

Just two days after surviving a fatal knife attack at a Benedictine abbey in Jarosław, Poland, Father Adrian returned to celebrate Mass and preach a homily centered on reconciliation and prayer.

Standing before his parishioners with visible facial bruising and bandages wrapping his head and hand, Father Adrian offered forgiveness on behalf of himself and Father Stanisław, a fellow priest killed during the assault.

Message of Reconciliation

During his sermon, Father Adrian asked worshippers to pray for the 31-year-old suspect currently in police custody, emphasizing that spiritual transformation is essential. He noted that the assailant:

"needs this prayer the most,"

addressing the congregation to urge that the attacker might "feel the grace of conversion."

Addressing potential tensions, the priest specifically requested that the public refrain from assigning collective blame to the suspect's nation of origin:

"It was a specific individual who committed this evil act"

"I ask you not to repay evil with evil, but with love, support, understanding, and care"

"I would also like to ask you not to blame the people from whom the criminal comes... The evil was committed by a specific person who is responsible for his actions.

This is a Polish priest Father Adrian Mantykiewicz. He is a victim of a knife attack and in his first homily after the tragedy, he left the county in owe with his message of forgiveness, still with fresh wounds very visible on his face.

He was wounded in a knife attack at a… pic.twitter.com/dx6o0pAIMH

— Paulina Guzik (@Guzik_Paulina) September 27, 2026

Therefore, I ask you not to respond to evil with evil, but with love, support, and understanding"

Details of the Incident

The attack took place on Thursday, September 24, at the Benedictine Sisters' abbey complex in Jarosław. A man armed with a kitchen knife entered the abbey property, stabbing five people—including four clergymen and a layperson—before being apprehended by law enforcement.

The abbey's Christian Culture and Information Centre has played an active role in providing humanitarian assistance and shelter to refugees fleeing war. Authorities are continuing their investigation into the suspect's background and motives while he remains in custody undergoing psychiatric evaluation.