
TWELVE-year-old Wiktor Chojecki, who died when the car he was driving collided head-on with a lorry last week, was โkindness personified”, his funeral Mass heard last Thursday.
Wiktor, originally from Poland but living in Newcastle West, died at the scene of the fatal collision approximately 23 kilometres from his home whileย driving his motherโs Nissan Qashqai.
A small shrine of teddy bears, candles, and floral tributes mark the scene of the fatal collision which occurred around 2am, on the N21, at Rineroe, on the outskirts of Adare.
Wiktorโs younger sister Julia held her mother Ewaโs hand as they walked behind the coffin which was carried into the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Newcastle West by six pall bearers, including Wiktorโs father Bart.
The boyโs heartbroken mother heldย a framed photograph of her only son.
Hundreds of mourners attended the poignant ceremony, which was concelebrated in both Polish and English, by Fr Krzysztof Tyburowski, Chaplin to the Polish Community in the Diocese of Limerick; Canon Frank Duhig, PP, Newcastle West; and Fr Dan Neenah, PP, Adare.
Fr Neenah was called to the scene of the fatal collision to administer the Last Rites and he prayed there with Wiktorโs parents.
Canon Duhig said there was great sadness in the town, where last Sunday a vigil was held in memory of Wiktor and in support of his family in which coloured balloons were released into the sky.
โThere is one word that I heard within an hour of hearing of Wiktorโs death, that has been repeated many times about him by those who knew him well, and that word is โkindnessโ. In Irish we say โcineรกltasโ, and, kindness is a deeply Christian virtue that marks Wiktor as a true child of God,โ said Fr Duhig.
Fr Tyburowski told mourners: โIt is a sad day, but with our prayer, and compassion and friendship, we embrace the family of Wiktor who left us too quickly in such a dramatic way. We thank God for the great gift of his young life and we pray for his happiness in eternity before god.โ
โWiktor was a Pole, a member of a great nation, and the great Polish community in the diocese of Limerick that has been created with our Irish brothers and sisters appreciate very much the presence of you Irish people in this sad ceremony, during which we bid farewell to one of the sons of our Polish nation,โ added Fr Tyburowski.
White floral bouquets were placed beside Wiktorโs oak coffin and members of Scoil Mhuire agus Ide secondary school, where Wiktor attended, sang hymns.
Over โฌ9,000 has already been raised through an online fundraiser set up to support the Chojeckiย family.
The โSupport for Wiktorโs Familyโ account via (https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-wiktors-family) was established by family friend Dominica Hogan, who wrote: โWeโre trying to make things a little easier for the family by raising funds to go towards funeral costs, and to help our friends through what’s going to be a very tough road ahead.โ
Wiktor was laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery, Newcastle West.