Tadeusz Wojda (born 29 January 1957) is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

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 has been archbishop of

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 ...

since 10 June 2017. On 2 March 2021 he was named Archbishop of Gdansk.

Biography

Born on 29 January 1957 in

Kowala, Kielce County Kowala is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sitkówka-Nowiny, within Kielce County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Osiedle-Nowiny and south of the regional capital Kiel ...

, Wojda entered the

Pallottines The Pallottines officially named the Society of the Catholic Apostolate ( la, Societas Apostolatus Catholici), abbreviated SAC is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right for men in the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1835 by the Roman C ...

in 1976 and was ordained a priest on 8 May 1983. He received a Licentiate from the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in 1986, and a PhD in 1989. From 1991, he served in a variety of roles in

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

. He was appointed the Congregation's under-secretary on 24 July 2012. On 12 April 2017,

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. ...

named him Archbishop of Białystok. and he was installed there on 10 June 2017. Within 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 ...

he is a member of the Mission Committee and the Concordat Commission. On 7 July 2019, ahead of the LGBT march scheduled to take place on 20 July, Wojda issued a ''

non possumus "Non possumus" is a Latin, Catholic, religious phrase that translates as "we cannot". It originated with the martyrdom of the Martyrs of Abitinae, who were murdered in AD 304 when Roman Emperor Diocletian prohibited Christians under penalty of deat ...

'' proclamation to be read in all churches in Białystok and the entire

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest cit ...

. He called pride marches "blasphemy against God". He described the march as organized "by a foreign initiative in Podlaskie land and community, an area which is deeply rooted in Christianity and concerned about the good of its own society, especially children". Following the march, Wojda condemned the violence that occurred at the march as incompatible with Christianity and urged believers to pray for "the family and its internal purity". On 2 March 2021 he was appointed archbishop of Gdańsk. He formally installed as Archbishop on 28 March 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wojda, Tadeusz 1957 births People from Kielce County Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Bishops of Białystok Bishops of Gdańsk Pallottine bishops Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Poland