This statue immortalizes Father Jerzy Popieluszko, a Polish priest who was influential in defending the rights of Polish workers and supported Polish independence from the Soviet Union. Popieluszko was kidnapped and murdered by the Polish Security Police in 1984. The statue was built by Stanislaw Lutostanski and unveiled to the public in 1990. Later that year, in an act of political activism, the statue’s head was removed. It was restored to it’s original state in 1992. Many Polish Americans gather at Father Popieluszko statue, on October 19th each year, to pay tribute to the martyr’s devotion to liberty.