The Archdiocese of Białystok ( la, Bialostocen(sis)) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese 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 ...

in Podlaskie Voivodeship, Northeastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. It is a

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ...

with two suffragan dioceses. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

archiepiscopal see is Bazylika Archikatedralna Wniebowzięcia NMP, a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

in the episcopal see of Białystok. It also has a second

: Bazylika Ofiarowania Najświętszej Marii Panny, dedicated to the

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in the East as The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, is a liturgical feast celebrated on November 21 by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholic Churches. The feast ...

, in Różanystok.

Ecclesiastical province

Its Suffragan sees are : * Diocese of Drohiczyn * Diocese of Łomża

Statistics

, it pastorally served 352,760 Catholics (80.5% of 438,200 total; however only 43,2% are active members) on 5,550 km² in 116 parishes and 25 missions with 411 priests (384 diocesan, 27 religious), 201 lay religious (31 brothers, 170 sisters) and 60 seminarians.

History

* Established June 5, 1991 as Diocese of Białystok on Polish territory split off from the Metropolitan

Archdiocese of Vilnius The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vilnius ( la, Archidioecesis Vilnensis; lt, Vilniaus arkivyskupija) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Lithuania. Established as the Diocese of Vilnius in t ...

in Lithuania * Enjoyed a

Papal visit Papal travel outside Rome has been historically rare, and voluntary travel of the pope was non-existent for the first 500 years. Pope John Paul II (1978–2005) undertook more pastoral trips than all his predecessors combined. Pope Francis (2013� ...

from the

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 ...

in June 1991. * Promoted on March 25, 1992 by the same as Archdiocese of Białystok

Episcopal ordinaries

:''Bishops of Białystok'' *

Edward Kisiel Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

(1991.06.05 – retired 1992.03.25), died 1993; previously

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 Limata (1976.05.03 – 1991.06.05) as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

( Lithuania) (1976.05.03 – 1991.06.05) ;''Metropolitan Archbishops of Białystok'' *

Stanisław Szymecki Stanisław Szymecki (born 26 January 1924) is a Polish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. At age , he is the oldest living bishop from Poland. Biography Szymecki was born in Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, y ...

(1993.05.15 – retired 2000.11.16), previously Bishop of Kielce (Poland) (1981.03.27 – 1993.05.15) *

Wojciech Ziemba Wojciech Ziemba (15 October 1941 – 21 April 2021) was a Polish Roman Catholic archbishop. Ziemba was born in Poland and was ordained to the priesthood in 1967. He served as titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop w ...

(2000.11.16 – retired 2006.05.30); next Metropolitan Archbishop of

Warmia Warmia ( pl, Warmia; Latin: ''Varmia'', ''Warmia''; ; Warmian: ''Warńija''; lt, Varmė; Old Prussian: ''Wārmi'') is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia. Its historic capital ...

(Poland) (2006.05.30 – 2016.10.15); previously Titular Bishop of

Falerone Falerone is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Fermo, in the Italian region of the Marche, southeast of Urbisaglia. History Almost nothing is known of the ancient town (called ''Falerio'') except from inscriptions. From the remains of its bui ...

(1982.06.19 – 1992.03.25) as Auxiliary Bishop of

(Poland) (1982.06.19 – 1992.03.25), Bishop of

Ełk Ełk (; former pl, Łek; german: Lyck; Old Prussian: ''Luks''; lt, Lukas), also spelled Elk in English, is a small city in northeastern Poland with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021. It was assigned to Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in 1999, ...

(Poland) (1992.03.25 – 2000.11.16) * Edward Ozorowski (2006.10.20 – retired 2017.04.12); previously Titular Bishop of

Bitetto Bitetto (Bari dialect, Barese: ; la, Vitetum, or ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, Italy. Main Sights The main attraction of Bitetto is the cathedral, dedicated to Saint Michael, one of the main examples of Ap ...

(1979.01.31 – 2006.10.20), first as Auxiliary Bishop of

(Lithuania) (1979.01.31 – 1991.06.05), then as Auxiliary Bishop of Białystok (1991.06.05 – succession 2006.10.20) * Tadeusz Wojda, ( S.A.C.) (2017.06.10 – 2021.03.02); next Metropolitan Archbishop of Gdańsk (Poland) (since 2021.03.25); previously Undersecretary of the Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (2012.07.24 – 2017.04.12).Honorable Archbishop Dr. Tadeusz Wojda
Archbishop of Białystok websiteVATICAN - Tadeusz Wojda, Under-secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, appointed Archbishop of Bialystok

Agenzia Fides Agenzia Fides is the news agency of the Vatican. It is based in the ''Palazzo de Propaganda Fide'' in Vatican City. It is part of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. It was formed on 5 June 1927, as the first missionary news agenc ...

, 19 April 2017 * Józef Guzdek (3 September 2021 – present); previously Titular Bishop of Treba (2004.09.15 – 2010.12.04) as Auxiliary Bishop of the

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Bishop of Military Ordinariate of Poland (Poland) (2010.12.19 – 2021.07.14)

References

Sources and external links