All Saints’ Day in South Africa
01.11.2022
On the occasion of All Saints' Day on November 1, 2022, representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria, the local Polish community and Polish diaspora associations laid wreaths on Polish graves and monuments in South Africa in honour of all Poles buried in South Africa.
Traditionally, Polish diplomats laid a wreath at the Katyn Memorial in Johannesburg and at the grave of Consul Stanisław Łepkowski in Pretoria. Stanisław Łepkowski, a Polish lawyer and diplomat, served as the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria during World War II. After the war, he stayed in South Africa, where he died in 1961. Stanisław Łepkowski was valued for his competence, professionalism and loyalty. He was honoured with a number of Polish and foreign decorations.
All Saints’ Day is a special time of remembrance of our dead. In the Polish tradition, 1 November is a day of remembrance not only of relatives who died, but also a day of national remembrance. Poles light candles on insurgent monuments, graves of those who died in all wars, people of merit for Poland and at the chapels. It is also a beautiful custom to light candles on nameless, abandoned graves.
Photos: Marta Gutkowska / Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria and Danuta Cieśla /Polish Association in Cape Town
