Court rules to move grave of Polish priest

Fr Jozef Jarzebowski

An Appeal Court has ruled today that the remains of a Polish priest buried at Fawley Court, Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire, can be moved.

Father Jozef Jarzebowski, who died in 1964, established a school and Polish cultural centre at Fawley Court in the 1950s, to care for the Polish migrant community that grew in England after World War II. Fr Jozef was the priest who introduced the Divine Mercy devotion to England and North America. In its heyday Fawley Court attracted thousands of Polish visitors.

The building and grounds, including a listed chapel, were sold to developers last year by the Marian Fathers, in spite of a 2,000 strong petition and protests by several groups.

In 2011, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke agreed to the priest's disinterment. A relative of of Fr Jozef, Elizabeth Rudewicz said the move would be "disrespectful" and took the case to the Appeal Court. She said that before his death, Fr Jozef had chosen the spot at Fawley Court where he wished to be buried.

Appeal Court judge, Lord Neuberger, Master of the Rolls, said it would be easier for people wishing to pay their respects if the body was moved to a public cemetery.

He said: "The religious concerns of Ms Rudewicz and the objectors have to be balanced against those whose religious beliefs appear to favour the grant of the licence."

Fr Jozef Jarzebowski's remains will now be disinterred and reburied in Fair Mile Cemetery, two miles away.

Concerns are now being raised about the fate of several more Polish burials, including a member of the Polish aristocracy and relative of the Kennedys, inside the chapel. The developers have been unavailable for comment today.