A CARD FROM THE CALENDAR - FR EDMUND PASZKOWSKI
Father Paszkowski’s ministry was inextricably linked with the Polish state’s defences. He was the military chaplain in Okęcie in Warsaw, where the 1st Air Regiment was stationed. As the regiment had no military chapel of their own, they became a part of the Military Parish in Łazienki. Every Sunday, Father Paszkowski celebrated Mass in the small wooden church dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto. On 15 December 1936, a parish was established in this small church, with Father Paszkowski as its priest. After the Second World War broke out, Luftwaffe officers were stationed in the presbytery. Under the nose of the German occupiers, Father Edmund Paszkowski took part in underground activities, including saving the hiding Jews by issuing them with certificates of baptism. In 1941, he was betrayed by an acquaintance, but managed to flee and hide in the vicinity of Konstancin. He died of heart attack on 21 June 1943. He was buried in the Warsaw Powązki cemetery.
