INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

“Our beloved Holy Father John Paul II has returned to the House of the Father,” announced Archbishop Leonardo Sandri to the faithful gathered late in the evening on April 2, 2005, in St. Peter’s Square, informing them of the death of the Polish Pope. Today (April 2), Marshal Piotr Całbecki laid flowers at the monument of the holy patron of our region in Toruń.

“John Paul II is a figure who is hard to forget, and one who is very much needed today so that we may unite around the common good and care for one another. This does not concern only religion and faith. It is about dialogue, which the Holy Father conducted with representatives of other religions, as well as with non-believers. Today, especially in Poland, we greatly lack dialogue between people of differing views, beliefs, and attitudes,” said Marshal Piotr Całbecki during the ceremony at the monument.

Saint John Paul II became the patron of our region in 2017. At that time, we were the first region in the world to boast such a patron.

The Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Day, established in 2008, is celebrated on June 7, the anniversary of the papal pilgrimages to Kujawy and Pomorze. John Paul II visited our region twice: on June 6-7, 1991, he was in Włocławek, and on June 7, 1999, he made a pilgrimage to Bydgoszcz and Toruń.

In Toruń, he beatified Father Wincenty Frelichowski, the patron saint of scouts. Two years earlier, in Zakopane, he elevated to the altars Blessed Mother Maria Karłowska – born in Karłowo in the Pałuki region (Nakło County), founder of the Congregation of the Shepherd Sisters of Divine Providence, whose general house is located in Jabłonowo Pomorskie (Brodnica County). In 1987, he beatified Michał Kozal, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Włocławek.

In 2004, he agreed to accept an honorary doctorate from Nicolaus Copernicus University.

Today’s ceremony at the monument of John Paul II was also attended by representatives of the local authorities of Toruń and social organizations.

Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office

April 2, 2026