A man armed with a knife killed a priest and injured four other people during an attack on clergy members and worshippers at a Benedictine abbey in southern Poland on Thursday, authorities said.

The attack took place at a Benedictine Sisters monastery in Jaroslaw, according to local media reports. Prosecutors said the attacker took a knife from a kitchen at the site and used it to attack one woman and four men, including a priest who was inside a confessional.

Three of the five victims were clergy members, while the other two were laypeople, prosecutor Bozena Harasz-Woloszyn of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Przemysl said.

One of the victims died, while two others were in critical, life-threatening condition, prosecutors said.

Police arrested a 31-year-old Ukrainian man in connection with the attack. Authorities did not immediately disclose a possible motive and said an investigation was underway.

Sister Barbara Dendor told state broadcaster TVP Info that she learned about the attack after arriving at the monastery and described the scene as chaotic.

“When I arrived, there was total panic,” she said.

Local authorities declared a period of mourning in Jaroslaw through the end of the week. Mayor Marcin Nazarewicz announced the decision following the deadly attack.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki expressed condolences to the family of the priest who died and wished those injured a quick recovery. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also described the attack as horrific and expressed condolences to the victim’s family.

The investigation remains ongoing as police work to establish the circumstances and motive behind the attack.

SOURCE: Reuters, September 24, 2026.