Priests conduct the memorial mass to honour Poland’s late President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria at the St. Vitus Cathedral on April 16, 2010 in Prague. Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and other 95 people died during the crash of Presidential aeroplane in thick fog in Russia on April 10, 2010.
WARSAW, Poland — Church bells across Poland have tolled and an emergency siren has wailed to mark the minute a week ago that a plane crashed in western Russia, killing Poland’s president, his wife, and many of the country’s civilian and military elite.
The plane crashed at 8:56 a.m. last Saturday, killing all 96 aboard, and plunging the nation into deep grief.
The bells tolling are a precursor to a giant outdoor memorial Saturday in Warsaw’s Pilsudski Square that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of mourners.
It is the first of two days of somber ceremonies. On Sunday, a state funeral in Krakow is slated to be attended by nearly 100 foreign dignitaries, if the volcanic ash cloud emanating from Iceland does not hamper their travel.
People wait for the start of a commemoration service for late Polish President Lech Kaczynski and the other plane crash victims at the Pilsudski square in Warsaw, April 17, 2010 The Polish president’s funeral looked set on Friday to go ahead as planned this weekend at his family’s insistence despite a cloud of volcanic ash that has shut Europe’s airports and may prevent world leaders attending.
People cry during a nation-wide minute of silence prior to a national memorial service in Pilsudski Square in Warsaw on early Saturday, April 17, 2010 in Warsaw, Poland. Polish President Lech Kaczynski was killed in a plane crash in Russia last Saturday.
School girls in uniforms stand by the Katyn memorial in Krakow, Poland Friday, April 16, 2010. Polish President Lech Kaczynski who was killed in a plane crash in Russia is going to be buried in Wawel castle in Krakow on Sunday.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus pays respect to Poland’s late President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria during a memorial mass at the St. Vitus Cathedral on April 16, 2010 in Prague. Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and other 95 people died during the crash of the presidential aeroplane in thick fog in Russia on April 10, 2010.
Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer pays respects to Poland’s late President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria during the memorial mass to at the St. Vitus Cathedral on April 16, 2010 in Prague. Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and other 95 people died during the crash of the presidential aeroplane in thick fog in Russia on April 10, 2010.
KRAKOW, POLAND – APRIL 16: Mourners lay candles in memory of late Polish President Lech Kaczynski in front of the ‘Katyn 1940’ memorial nearby the Castle Wawel on April 16, 2010 in Krakow, Poland. Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and leading members of the Polish military and government were killed when the presidential plane crashed while attempting to land at Smolensk, Russia on April 10. The delegation was on its way to attend memorial services for the thousands of Polish military officers murdered by the Soviets during World War II at Katyn.
A man shows a picture of late Polish President Lech Kaczynski as he waits for the start of a commemoration service for the plane crash victims at the Pilsudski square in Warsaw April 17, 2010.
The Polish national flag, center, and flags of the Polish army are set half-mast in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, April 16, 2010. Polish President Lech Kaczynski who was killed in a plane crash in Russia is going to be buried in Krakow on Sunday. On Saturday a commemoration ceremony for all casualties is planned on central Warsaw’s Pilsudski square.
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