Marek Popieluszko of Prospect Heights was 14 years old on Oct. 19, 1984, when communist secret police kidnapped his uncle, Father Jerzy Popieluszko. The police tortured his uncle, locked him in a car trunk and then, while he was still alive, tied rocks to his legs and threw the Catholic priest into the freezing waters of the Vistula River near Wloclawek, Poland. Twenty six years later, Marek attended the beatification of his uncle, Father Popieluszko, on June 6, in Warsaw, Poland. Currently, Marek and his wife, Urszula, attend St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Palatine. He emigrated to the United States from Poland 22 years ago at the suggestion of family members who were concerned about his safety. Defending the people Popieluszko recently spoke about his time growing up with his uncle. “The family at first didn’t know about his involvement and struggle for a free Poland,” said Marek Popieluszko, referring back to 1980 when Father Popieluszko became a chaplain to steelworkers who were on strike in Huta Warszawa near Warsaw. In 1982, Father Jerzy started a custom in Poland of celebrating Masses for the Homeland. Soon he became known throughout the country for his passionate sermons in which he defended human rights. Father Jerzy’s teaching was his answer to the marshal law that had crushed the first independent worker’s union, Solidarity, put innocent people behind bars, imposed tight restrictions on human rights and killed hope for any political and economic changes in Poland. “We learned about the great danger he lived in from his neighbors and our own observations during the trips that we took to Warsaw,” Marek said. “There were many stories, a rock thrown at his bedroom window in the middle of night, frequent breaks into his car or spilled paint all over the vehicle. He didn’t want us to be worried about him.” The family also learned from another source that Father Jerzy was detained, interrogated and formally charged in July 1984 with “abusing the function of a priest” and “anti-state propaganda.” The charge was later suspended. But there is one night that Marek said he will never forget. It was Oct. 30, 1984. His father was in Germany and his mother was working the night shift in a hospital. Marek and his brother and sister were at home with a babysitter. “The phone rang. It was my mother calling from work. People asked if she watched the news and she didn’t. So, we watched the late night news edition,” Marek recalled. “The speaker announced that my uncle had been kidnapped on his way back to Warsaw after finishing a visit in a parish at the town of Bydgoszcz. We were all shocked.” Marek said he didn’t eat, didn’t sleep and didn’t function for a few days. “The stillness was the worst to handle, so we went to Warsaw. My mother told us even if he was found alive, he will still need our help,” said Marek. Father Jerzy Popieluszko never came back alive. Marek’s father identified the body. “There was not even one part on his body which looked like Uncle Jerzy. His tongue was ripped out; the whole body was swollen and covered with bruises. He recognized him from a birthmark on his chest,” he said. Remembering the man Marek described his uncle as an average, happy man. “What was most extraordinary about him was that he was so ordinary,” said Marek. He recalled times Father Jerzy spent with his family in his hometown of Okopy in northeastern Poland. They would wash his car and talk about school and friends. He remembers that Father Jerzy, like most of the Popieluszko family, didn’t like water. “He never learned how to swim, he was afraid of water,” said Marek. About a month ago, Marek and 20 other Popieluszko’s family members were among 140,000 people who attended the beatification Mass for Father Jerzy. “It felt like a holiday for me. I have been to many anniversary Masses, but it was never so joyful,” said Marek. Asked about the most precious memory associated with his uncle, Marek recalled the summer of the never-forgotten 1984. Marek spent a part of his vacation in Warsaw visiting the uncle. “We took walks throughout the Old Town, did a bit of shopping and stopped for ice cream,” he said. Marek still talks to his uncle but now it is through prayer. “But the prayers feel like we carry on the conversations during our ice cream trip.”