Christian World | Kraków Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś called a Mass for victims after a gunman killed six in the Polish city's Main Market Square, as bishops urged prayer

ACW | November 8, 2026 — Kraków Archbishop Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś has called the faithful to a Mass for the victims of Saturday's deadly shooting in the Polish city's Main Market Square.

"We do not want to, we cannot, we are unable to be indifferent at such a moment," Ryś wrote in a letter published by the Archdiocese of Kraków on Sunday. "We want, we need and we must be together," he added.

The Mass is set for 4 p.m. local time on Sunday at St. Mary's Basilica on the same square, Ryś said. He prayed for the dead, the wounded and their families and asked the victims' parish priests to stand by them.

Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, president of the Polish Bishops' Conference, said on Saturday evening he was "deeply shaken" by what had happened in Kraków. "We do not yet know the causes or the reasons for such a cruel act," he said, offering prayers for the dead and the wounded.

The gunman opened fire on passersby from his car shortly after 3 p.m. on Saturday, EWTN News reported. Six people were killed and 16 wounded, including the attacker and two police officers, and police shot and detained the suspect, it said.

Police later found three more bodies in the suspect's home, EWTN News reported. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the attack terrorism, and President Karol Nawrocki declared national mourning for Nov. 8 and 9.

Background: The shooting took place a few steps from St. Mary's Basilica, according to EWTN News. Warsaw Archbishop Adrian Galbas wrote on Facebook: "As Cardinal Grzegorz asked: let us be together!"

Why it matters: Within a day, leaders of Poland's Catholic Church, from the bishops' conference president to the archbishops of Kraków and Warsaw, called for prayer and solidarity, EWTN News reported. Ryś said "the last word does not and cannot belong to hatred."

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: Polish Bishops' Conference — Statement by the conference president after the Kraków tragedy; Archdiocese of Kraków — Cardinal Ryś: We must be together; EWTN News — Polish bishops call for prayer

Photo: Polish Bishops' Conference Press Office