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Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń The Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń is a Roman Catholic church located at the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland, in the village of Licheń Stary near Konin in the Greater Poland Voivodeship in Poland. It was designed by Barbara Bi ...

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National polity A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...

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Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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Catholic theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic ...

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Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

, governance = KEP , structure = , leader_title = Pope , leader_name = Francis , leader_title1 =

Primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Wojciech Polak Wojciech Polak (born 19 December 1964) is the Roman Catholic archbishop of Gniezno, Poland, since his appointment on 17 May 2014. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of Gniezno. Biography Early life Polak was born in 1964 in Inowrocł ...

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President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

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Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

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Mieszko I Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and ...

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966 Year 966 ( CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * 23 June - Byzantine-Arab War: A prisoner exchange occurs at the border betwee ...

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Civitas Schinesghe Civitas Schinesghe () is the first recorded name related to Poland as a political entity (the name is a Latinization of or , "ducal gords") first attested in 991/2. The original deed is missing, but is mentioned in an 11th-century papal rege ...

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Polish-Catholic Church of Republic of Poland Church of Poland, also called Polish Catholic Church ( pl, Kościół Polski, Kościół Polskokatolicki w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish Old Catholic church in Poland, which is part of the Union of Utrecht. It is a member of the World ...

Protestantism in Poland Protestantism in Poland is the third largest faith in Poland, after the Roman Catholic Church (32,440,722) and the Polish Orthodox Church (503,996). As of 2018 there were 103 registered Protestant denominations in Poland. Most Protestants (mainl ...

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The Polish Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Poland, is part of the Roman Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome, and the

Episcopal Conference of Poland The Polish Episcopal Conference or Polish Bishops' Conference ( pl, Konferencja Episkopatu Polski) is the central organ of the Catholic Church in Poland. It is composed of 2 cardinals, 28 archbishops and 118 bishops. Members ** President – abp ...

. There are 41

dioceses of the

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and two eparchies of the Eastern Churches in Poland. These comprise about 10,000 parishes and religious orders. There are 33 million registered Catholics (the data includes the number of infants baptized) in Poland. The primate of the Church is

Wojciech Polak Wojciech Polak (born 19 December 1964) is the Roman Catholic archbishop of Gniezno, Poland, since his appointment on 17 May 2014. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of Gniezno. Biography Early life Polak was born in 1964 in Inowrocł ...

Archbishop of Gniezno This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Poland officially adopted Latin Christianity in

, the Catholic Church has played an important religious, cultural and political role in the country. Identifying oneself as Catholic distinguished Polish culture and nationality from neighbouring Germany, especially eastern and northern Germany, which is mostly Lutheran, and the countries to the east which are

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

. During times of foreign oppression, the Catholic Church was a cultural guard in the fight for independence and national survival. For instance, the Polish abbey in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

, which successfully resisted a siege in the Swedish invasion of Poland in the 17th century, became a symbol of national resistance to the occupation. The establishment of a communist regime controlled by the Soviet Union following World War II allowed the Church to continue fulfilling this role, although recent allegations suggest there was some minor collaboration between Polish clergy and the regime. The 1978 election of Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyła as

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

strengthened the ties of identification. John Paul's visits to Poland became rallying points for the faithful and galvanized opposition to the Soviet regime. His beatification in 2011 and canonization 3 years later further instilled pride and joy in the Polish people. In 2013, Pope Francis, John Paul II's 2nd successor (and who was made a cardinal by the Polish pope), announced that World Youth Day, the world's largest religious gathering of young people, would be held in Kraków, Poland in 2016. In 2013 a succession of child sex abuse scandals within the Church, and the poor response by the Church, became a matter of some public concern. The church resisted demands to pay compensation to victims.

Number of Catholics in Poland

As of 2005 a majority of Poles, approximately 88%, identified themselves as Catholic, and 58% said they are active practicing Catholics, according to a survey by the

Centre for Public Opinion Research Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej (CBOS; English: Centre for Public Opinion Research) is an opinion polling institute in Poland, based in Warsaw. Originally established in communist Poland in 1982,

. According to the Ministry of Foreigns Affairs of the Republic of Poland, 95% of Poles belong to the Catholic Church; this survey bases the number of adherents on the number of infants baptized, as provided by the Catholic Church. The

CIA Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is availabl ...

gives a number of 87.2% belonging to the Catholic Church in 2012. In the biggest part of Europe, the rates of religious observance have steadily decreased. However, Poland still remains one of the most devoutly religious countries in Europe. Polish Catholics participate in the sacraments more frequently than their counterparts in most Western European and North American countries. A 2009 study by the Church itself revealed that 80% of Poles go to confession at least once a year, while 60% of the respondents say they do so more often than once a year. By contrast, a 2005 study by Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate revealed that only 14% of

American Catholics With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the country's second largest religious grouping, after Protestantism, and the country's largest single church or Christian denomination where Protestantism is divided in ...

take part in the sacrament of penance once a year, with a mere 2% doing so more frequently. Tarnów is the most religious city in Poland, and Łódź is the least. The southern and eastern parts of Poland are more active in their religious practices than those of the West and North. The majority of Poles continue to declare themselves Catholic. This is in stark contrast to the otherwise similar neighboring Czech Republic, which is one of the least religious practicing areas on Earth, with only 19% declaring "they believe there is a God" of any kind. A 2014 survey conducted by the Church found that the number of Polish Catholics attending Sunday Mass had fallen by two million over the last decade, with 39% of baptized Catholics regularly attending Mass in 2014. At the same time, however, this partly results from the fact that since 2004 2.1 million Poles have emigrated to Western Europe. Writing for the Catholic weekly

Tygodnik Powszechny ''Tygodnik Powszechny'' (, ''The Common Weekly'') is a Polish Roman Catholic weekly magazine, published in Kraków, which focuses on social, cultural and political issues. It was established in 1945 under the auspices of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sap ...

, Church sociologist Rev. Prof. Janusz Mariański has noted that these two million Polish emigrants are still listed in their parish records as members, so when Mass attendance is measured such emigres lower the official records. The proportion of Mass attendees receiving Holy Communion is rising, while the number of Polish Catholic priests continues to rise as ordinations outpace deaths in Poland, though the number of nuns is decreasing. The survey found that regular Sunday Mass attendance varies by dioceses from a high Diocese of Tarnów (69%) to a low Archdiocese of Szczecin-Kamień (24.3%), and reception of Holy Communion from 23.7% in the Tarnów diocese down to 10.4% in the diocese of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg.

Religious practice

01 Fronleichnamsprozession in Sanok im Jahr 2012

The

regularly conducts surveys on religious practice in Poland. A 2012 document reported that for more than a quarter-century church attendance and declarations of religious faith have been stable, decreasing only minimally since 2005 when the grief related to the death of

led to an increase in religious practice among Poles. In a 2012 study, 42% of Poles declared that they attend religious services at least once a week, 18% do so once or twice a month, 32% do so several times a year, and only 8% do so never or almost never. Meanwhile, 94% of Poles consider themselves to be religious believers (9% of whom consider themselves "deeply religious"), while only 6% of Poles claim that they are non-believers. According to the Church's own sources, 39.1% of Catholics required to attend the Sunday Mass, take part in it. Easter continues to be an important holiday for Polish Catholics. According to a 2012 study by the CBOS (

), 74% of Poles make an effort to participate in the sacrament of penance before Easter, 59% make an effort to attend the Stations of the Cross or Gorzkie żale (an increase of 6% since 2003), 57% want to improve themselves for the better (an increase of 7%), 49% want to help the needy (an increase of 8%), and 46% want to pray more (a decline of 5%). A CBOS opinion poll from April 2014 found the following:

Apostasy

During the

October 2020 Polish protests October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôct ...

, enquiries regarding the procedure for

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...

from the Polish Catholic Church became popular. Web search engine queries showed high frequencies for "apostasy" ( pl, apostazja) and "how to do apostasy" ( pl, jak dokonać apostazji), and a Facebook event titled "Quit the church at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

" was followed by 5000 people. , the formal apostasy procedure in the Polish Catholic Church is a procedure defined on 7 October 2015 by the

, which became effective as of 19 February 2016. It can only be done in person, by delivering an application to a church

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. The procedure cannot be done by email, post, or state administrative services.

Latin territories

*Archdiocese **Diocese Latin names of dioceses in italics. CatholicDiocesesPoland2004Numbered

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

, ''Bialostocensis'' (1) **

Drohiczyn Drohiczyn () ( lt, Drohičinas/Drogičinas, be, Дарагічын, ua, Дорогочин, Дорогичин, ''Dorohochyn'', ''Dorohychyn'') is a town in Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. The town has a population of 2,1 ...

, ''Drohiczinensis'' (2) **

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship sin ...

, ''Lomzensis'' (3) * Cracow, ''Cracoviensis'' (4) ** Bielsko–Żywiec, ''Bielscensis-Zyviecensis'' (5) ** Kielce, ''Kielcensis'' (6) ** Tarnów, ''Tarnoviensis'' (7) *

, ''Czestochoviensis'' (8) ** Radom, ''Radomensis'' (9) ** Sosnowiec, ''Sosnoviensis'' (10) * Gdańsk, ''Gedanensis'' (11) **

Pelplin Pelplin (; csb, Pôłplëno; formerly German also: ''Pelplin'') is a town in northern Poland, in the Tczew County, Pomeranian Voivodship. Population: 8,320 (2009). Pelplin is located in the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in Pomerania. It is h ...

, ''Pelplinensis'' (12) ** Toruń, ''Thoruniensis'' (13) * Gniezno, ''Gnesnensis'' (14) **

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

, ''Bydgostiensis'' (15) **

Włocławek Włocławek (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Leslau) is a city located in central Poland along the Vistula (Wisła) River and is bordered by the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park. As of December 2021, the population of the city is 106,928. Lo ...

, ''Vladislaviensis'' (16) * Katowice, ''Katovicensis'' (17) ** Gliwice, ''Glivicensis'' (18) ** Opole, ''Opoliensis'' (19) * Łódź, ''Lodziensis'' (20) **

Łowicz Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,896 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999); previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a m ...

, ''Lovicensis'' (21) *

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...

, ''Lublinensis'' (22) ** Sandomierz, ''Sandomiriensis'' (23) **

Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...

, ''Siedlecensis'' (24) * Poznań, ''Posnaniensis'' (25) ** Kalisz, ''Calissiensis'' (26) * Przemyśl, ''Premisliensis'' (27) ** Rzeszów, ''Rzeszoviensis'' (28) ** Zamość-Lubaczów, ''Zamosciensis-Lubaczoviensis'' (29) * Szczecin-Kamień, ''Sedinensis-Caminensis'' (30) ** Koszalin-Kołobrzeg, ''Coslinensis-Colubreganus'' (31) ** Zielona Góra-Gorzów Wielkopolski, ''Viridimontanensis-Gorzoviensis'' (32) * Warmia (

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

), ''Varmiensis'' (33) **

Elbląg Elbląg (; german: Elbing, Old Prussian: ''Elbings'') is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 117,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. ...

, ''Elbingensis'' (34) ** Ełk, ''Liccanensis'' (35) * Warsaw, ''Varsaviensis'' (36) ** Płock, ''Plocensis'' (37) ** Warsaw-Praga, ''Varsaviensis-Pragensis'' (38) * Wrocław, ''Vratislaviensis'' (39) ** Legnica, ''Legnicensis'' (40) ** Świdnica, ''Suidniciensis'' (41)

Ukrainian Greek Catholic territory

*Archeparchy **Eparchies *

Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Przemyśl–Warsaw The Ukrainian (Greek) Catholic Archeparchy of Przemyśl–Warsaw ( la, Archidioecesis Premisliensis–Varsaviensis ritus byzantini ucraini, uk, Перемишльсько-Варшавська архієпархія УГКЦ) is an archeparchy (E ...

** Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Olsztyn–Gdańsk **

Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Wrocław-Koszalin Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

Extraterritorial units

* Military Ordinariate of Polish Army

References

External links

Conference of the Episcopate of Poland
* Apostasy in Poland *
Procedura apostazji: poradnik i wzór oświadczenia
*
Apostazja.info - Jak wypisać się z Kościoła katolickiego
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Apostazja – instrukcja krok po kroku i wzory dokumentów
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholicism in Poland Poland Poland Polish culture