Hundreds Mourn Loss Of Father Gostomski

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Priest's death has left a "gaping void" in the community

Hundreds of people flocked to the Polish Church in Leysfield Road on Thursday (April 15) to attend a memorial Mass for the late Father Gostomski.

Fr. Monsignor Bronislaw Gostomski of St Andrew Bobola Church was one of more than 90 passengers who perished when the plane they were travelling on crashed in thick fog in Smolensk, western Russia last Saturday (April 10).

Leysfield Road was closed to traffic for the evening and, as the church filled up, crowds of mourners stood in the street outside, with extra chairs brought out for the elderly. Many arrived with flowers, which were laid next to a crucifix and candles in the front courtyard of the church.

As the memorial Mass began, mourners stood in silence as a roll-call of the dead was read out. Nobody on board survived last Saturday's plane crash, which claimed the lives of the Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, his wife and several key members of Poland's government and military establishment.

Father Gostomski had served at the W12 church for eight years. As mourners arrived for the memorial service, they stopped to look at the pictures of the popular priest, which had been stuck on boards outside.

Thursday evening's Mass was a memorial both for Fr. Gostomski and for President Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last Polish President in Exile, who lived in London with his wife. The Mass was led by the Rector of the Polish Catholic Mission in England and Wales, Monsignor Stefan Wylezek, and was attended by the Polish ambassador, Barbara Tuge-Erecinska, and Bishop Alan Hope, representing the Diocese of Westminster.

The Leysfield Road church said parishoners had been devastated by the news of the plane crash: "Amongst the distinguished group of people central to Polish life was our Parish Priest, Father Bronislaw Gostomski. For the parishoners of St. Andrew Bobola's Church in Shepherd's Bush, this is an irreplaceable loss which has left a gaping void in our community life. To many, he was simply known as 'Father Bronek'. He was an impassioned preacher, the restorer of St. Andrew Bobola's Church and a fervent devotee of Our Lady of Kozielsk. In summary, he was, in body and soul, a dedicated pastor to his flock. Evidence of this is seen in the crowds that have filled his parish church since the devastating news broke on Saturday morning," a spokesperson said.

Fr. Gostomski had been in the U.K. for 31 years, beginning his service in December 1979 as a Priest for the Polish Community in England, first in the Parish of Our Lady, Mother of the Church in Ealing, then in the Polish Parishes in Peterborough and Bradford. In March 2003 he was honoured by Pope John Paul II with the title of Monsignor and in September of that year became Parish Priest of St. Andrew Bobola’s church.

The Polish delegation on board the ill-fated plane had been on their way to Russia when the accident happened, to attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre of thousands of Poles by Soviet forces during World War II.

It is not yet clear whether Fr. Gostomski's body has been found since the crash, but he will ultimately be returned to his hometown of Sierpc in central Poland to be buried.

Yasmine Estaphanos

15 April 2010