In Polish churches in America, “Wesoły nam dzień dziś nastał” was sung, while over the mountains of Iran, special forces extracted a wounded pilot from a rock crevice. Oil prices fell by thirteen percent, the Dyngus Day Parade took place in Greenpoint, and four astronauts were just passing the dark side of the Moon — further from Earth than anyone before. Here’s what happened in the week of April 5–11, 2026, from the perspective of the Polish diaspora in America.
Easter and an Easter Miracle
On Holy Saturday, April 4, Bishop Robert Brennan, ordinary of the Diocese of Brooklyn, blessed Easter baskets at the Polish parish of Our Lady of Consolation on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg/Greenpoint — a gesture that showed the Polish community is an important part of Catholic Brooklyn. On Sunday, April 5, Polish families across America sat down for Easter breakfast with żurek, white sausage, and babka.
But this Easter also had another dimension. On the same day — Easter Sunday — President Trump announced: “WE GOT HIM!” An American colonel, a weapons systems officer from the F-15E Strike Eagle shot down on Friday, was rescued in the mountains of Iran after forty hours of hiding in a rock crevice. The CIA located him as part of a disinformation operation, and special forces extracted him under cover of night. Trump called it an “Easter miracle.”
Truce with Iran
On Tuesday, April 7 — less than two hours before the expiration of the ultimatum in which Trump threatened to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges — the US and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire. Pakistan mediated the talks. Iran agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Brent crude oil prices immediately fell by 13 percent. Stock markets breathed a sigh of relief. Peace negotiations were scheduled for Friday, April 10, in Islamabad. The truce expires on April 21 — the clock is ticking.
Artemis II — Humans Fly to the Moon
Four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — are flying around the Moon aboard the Orion capsule. This is the first crewed lunar mission in fifty-three years. The SLS rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, and this week Orion approached the Moon close enough to see its dark side. The crew will break the Apollo 13 record — 252,000 miles from Earth, the farthest in human history. Landing in the Pacific is scheduled for April 10.
Dyngus Day Parade in Greenpoint
On Easter Monday, April 6, Greenpoint was once again drenched with water. The fifth Dyngus Day Parade marched from St. Stanislaus Kostka Church on Humboldt Street to McGolrick Park — with polka, sausage, pussy willows, and water guns. The Śmigus-Dyngus tradition lives on in North Brooklyn — and attracts more and more people each year.
Film “Katyń” in Manhattan — Today
Today — Saturday, April 11, at 5:00 PM — the Pilecki Institute at 92 Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan will host a free screening of Andrzej Wajda’s film “Katyń.” The film is in Polish with English subtitles, commemorating the 86th anniversary of the Katyń massacre. Wajda’s father, Captain Jakub Wajda, was one of over 22,000 victims of the NKVD murder in the spring of 1940. Admission is free.
What Else Happened
Karolina Lisztwan from Stary Sącz was crowned the Most Beautiful Pole in America 2026 — the coronation took place on March 27 at the Des Plaines Theatre near Chicago, with the support of PSFCU in the credit union’s 50th anniversary year. Lewandowski is not going to the World Cup after losing 2:3 to Sweden — but according to sports media, he might join MLS, most likely Chicago Fire. And undefeated Polish boxer Sławomir Bohdziewicz (7-0, 6 KO) from Stamford fights on April 18 in Hartford at the CES Boxing gala.
The Coming Week
On Monday, April 14, at the Piłsudski Institute at 138 Greenpoint Avenue in Brooklyn, there will be a book presentation by Prof. Anna Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann on the history of the Polish diaspora — 6:00 PM. On Saturday, April 18, Bohdziewicz fights in Hartford. And on April 21, the truce with Iran expires — and the world will hold its breath again.
The week is behind us. Easter, war, space, boxing, and pussy willows in Greenpoint. This is the life of the Polish diaspora in America in 2026.
Editorial Staff, Voice of Polonia in the USA
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