A 150-year-old candle given to Poles by Pius IX was lit in the Temple of Divine Providence. The Pope's wish was to kindle it in free Warsaw. During the Thanksgiving Day the President, the Speaker of the Seym, parliamentarians, members of the government, veterans and clergy thanked God for the independence.

The Holy Mass in the year of the centennial of independence was celebrated under the presidency of the Primate of Poland Archbishop Wojciech Polak, the act of thanksgiving and entrustment to the Divine Providence was performed by Warsaw Metropolitan Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz, the homily was delivered by Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś, who emphasized that the measure of celebrating liberation is not only one's own experience of freedom, but also the ability to share this gift with others.

President Andrzej Duda said that we had to wait a long time for independence, but the Poles lived to see their reborn, free and independent homeland again. - Today I have the honour of being able to light the candle for the second time - again in a free, independent, sovereign Poland," said the President.

The fire that lit the candle came from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was first lit in 1920 by Wojciech Trąmpczyński, Speaker of the Legislative Sejm.

After the Mass, Andrzej Duda and Marek Kuchciński took part in the ceremonial unveiling of plaques commemorating the dioceses that contributed to the construction of the Temple of Divine Providence. The decision to build the temple as a national votive offering for the adoption of the Constitution of 3 May was made by the Four-Year Sejm.

Photo: Krzysztof Białoskórski/ Sejm