Анджей Почобут. Фото из Facebook
Former political prisoner Andrzej Poczobut spoke with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. He approached the pontiff after the end of the general audience on Sept. 2.
In an interview with PAP, Poczobut said he asked the Pope for a blessing for Belarus, his family and the Union of Poles in Belarus, and also asked him to bless a copy of the Congregational Icon of Our Lady.
Poczobut said he plans to return to Belarus soon and that the meeting with the Pope brought him peace of mind.
“For every Catholic, meeting the Pope is a special event and experience. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity. I feel at peace. In recent days and months, I have felt an inner tension. I am very grateful to the Pope for the peace I feel now. I will be returning to Belarus very soon, and the inner tension had been building up. The past few months have been very active. Now I feel at peace”, Poczobut said.
Asked about the situation of Poles in Belarus today, the former political prisoner said the situation was difficult.
“The situation is difficult, and in the near future we will see what it really looks like,” he said.
Andrzej Poczobut was sentenced in Belarus to eight years in prison in 2023. In April this year, he was released as part of a prisoner exchange. The journalist managed to have a Belarusian passport issued to him and received assurances that he could return to Belarus. Poczobut has repeatedly said he intends to return to the country in September for the congress of the Union of Poles in Belarus.