Piotr Libera (born 20 March 1951) is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

prelate of the

Catholic Church 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 ...

who was

Bishop of Płock 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 ...

from 2008 to 2022. He was an auxiliary bishop of Katowice from 1996 to 2007 and secretary general of the Polish Episcopal Conference from 1998 to 2007.

Biography

Piotr Libera was born on 20 March 1951 in

Szopienice Szopienice-Burowiec () is a district of Katowice, Poland, located in the north-eastern part of the city. It has an area of 8.47 km2 and in 2007 had 17,139 inhabitants. The area of a district encompasses two historically important settlements ...

. After completing high school, he entered the seminary in 1969. From 1970 to 1972 he performed his compulsory military service in

Bartoszyce Bartoszyce (pronounced , german: Bartenstein, ; lt, Barštynas) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. G ...

. He was ordained a priest on 15 April 1976 by Herbert Bednorz, Bishop of Katowice. He completed his theological and humanistic training at the Salesian-Latinitas Pontifical Athenaeum between 1980 and 1986, earning his doctorate with a thesis on Saint Ambrose. From 1986 to 1989 he was prefect of the Major Seminary of Katowice. From 1989 to 1996 he worked at the Apostolic Nunciature in Warsaw. On 23 November 1996,

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 ...

named him

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of Centuria and auxiliary bishop of Katowice. He received his episcopal consecration on 6 January 1997 from Pope John Paul. From 1998 to 2007 he was secretary general of the

Polish Episcopal Conference 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 ...

. On 2 May 2007,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

appointed him bishop of Płock. He was installed there on 31 May 2007 in

Masovian Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral The adjective Mazovian (or Masovian) may refer to: *Mazovia, a historic, geographical and cultural region of Poland *Masovians, an ethnic group in Poland *Masovian dialect, the dialect of Polish spoken in Mazovia *Masovian (European Parliament con ...

. In 2009, he

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

a journalist who had attempted to make a tape recording of his own

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

to help support his denunciation of corruption in the clergy.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted his resignation as bishop of Płovk on 4 June 2022. Because of health problems, Libera submitted his resignation several years before he was required to.

References

External links

1951 births Living people Bishops of Płock 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops People from Katowice 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland {{Poland-RC-bishop-stub