A grieving community has united in remembrance of a former Bradford priest who died in the air crash that killed Poland’s president and dozens of dignitaries.

Bronislaw Gostomski was only on the aircraft, which crashed over Russia, in place of the wife of former president Ryszard Kaczorowski, friends said.

Monsignor Gostomski, 62, known as “Father Bronek” was among 97 dignitaries, including the Polish president Lech Kaczynski, who were due to attend a memorial in Russia.

Father Bronek's friend Ryszard Wolny, of Bolton Drive, Eccleshill, Bradford, said: “It is such a tragedy because he wasn't supposed to go there – he went in someone else’s place. I can't believe it. I keep telling myself it can't be true.”

Mr Wolny was among mourners packed into Bradford's Polish Parish Club following a moving mass at the city’s Polish Church in Edmund Street, Little Horton.

In a sign of unity, candles were lit at the church’s Katyn memorial – the city's own memorial to the Katyn forest massacre, where thousands of Polish military officers were killed.

Father Bronek, along with other dignitaries on the presidential plane, were on their way to memorial events for the 70th anniversary of the massacre when the plane crashed on Saturday.

Jan Niczyperowicz, membership secretary of Bradford Polish Parish Club, yesterday led the tributes to Father Bronek, describing him as a charismatic man who united Bradford’s Polish community during more than a decade in the city.

“People are absolutely devastated,” he said. “He was a good friend, a great man, a first-rate parish priest and very enjoyable to work with.”

Father Bronek forged strong relationships with other Roman Catholic churches in Bradford, as well as with the Anglican and Muslim communities among others, said Mr Niczyperowicz.

“I think almost all of us burst out crying when we heard what had happened,” he said.

Trevor Masters, 66, was known to Father Bronek as his “English friend” when he joined Bradford's Polish community after marrying his Polish wife Teresa.

Mr Masters, of Meadowbank Avenue, Allerton, said: “He had the most booming voice and, for a little man, a great presence. He was a true friend of mine.”

Anna Spyrka, 36, was married to her husband by the much-loved priest, who she described as a “brilliant people’s man.” She said: “He knew how to speak to the smallest child to the oldest person. He never used his knowledge to make anyone feel inferior and never spoke to anyone in a patronising way. It is such a loss.”

Father Bronek came to England from Plock, Poland, and began his ministry in Ealing, London. He became a parish priest in Peterborough before arriving in Bradford in the late 1980s.

At the time of his death, he was working at St Andrew Bobola Roman Catholic Church in Shepherd’s Bush, west London.

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has taken charge of the investigation into the crash and offered condolences to the Polish people, along with president Dmitry Medvedev.

British royal and political figures, including the Queen and the Prime Minister, also paid tribute.

The Rev Wieslaw Duracz, Bradford’s current Polish priest, will lead a special mass on Sunday