Dear Falcon Members,
On December 13, we ask you to join Falcons across the country in a simple but powerful act of remembrance and solidarity by lighting a candle in your window at 7:30 p.m. as part of the national observance known as “Light the Candle of Freedom.”
This tradition reaches back to Christmas Eve of 1981, when, following the declaration of martial law in Poland, President Ronald Reagan called on Americans to place candles in their windows in support of the Polish people. That call was answered across the free world. Even Pope Saint John Paul II placed a candle in the window of the Apostolic Palace as a sign of unity with the nation under oppression.
This year marks the 44th anniversary of the declaration of martial law. We light our candles in memory of those who suffered, those who were imprisoned, and those whose lives were forever changed. We also light them in gratitude for the courage of families who endured repression without surrendering their values or their hope.
We invite every Falcon home, every Member, and every family to take part. One candle in one window may seem small, but thousands of lights together become a powerful national witness.
If you participate, we invite you to send a photo of your candle to Courtney (ccaughey@polishfalcons.org) at National Headquarters so that we may create a Falcons gallery of remembrance. Those photos will also be forwarded to our partners in Poland as part of the international commemoration.
In addition, together with our partners from the Freedom and Solidarity Association, we invite you to attend a commemorative Mass honoring the victims of martial law on Sunday, December 14, at 11:30 a.m. at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pa. Details are available on the poster below.
Thank you for keeping this sacred memory alive through your presence, your faith, and your light.
Czolem,
PFA National Headquarters
