June 10-12: 401st Plenary Assembly of the Polish Bishops' Conference in Katowice
The 100th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Katowice, as well as religious education at school and parish catechesis, will be the main topics of the 401st Plenary Assembly of the Polish Bishops' Conference, to be held in Katowice from June 10 to 12 this year.
https://episkopat.pl/doc/229900.10-12-czerwca-401-Zebranie-Plenarne-Konferencji-Episkopatu
This year's June Plenary Assembly of the Polish Bishops' Conference will be held in Katowice due to the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Diocese of Katowice, which was elevated to the rank of archdiocese in 1992. “The deliberations of the Plenary Assembly will be accompanied by the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Katowice by Pope Pius XI's bull Vixdum Poloniae unitas. For the anniversary celebrations, the Holy Father Francis has appointed Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz as papal legate," Bishop Marek Marczak, Secretary General of the Polish Bishops' Conference, indicated.
Bishop Marczak said that among the topics the Plenary Assembly will take up during its deliberations will be the state of preparation of the parish catechesis program. The bishops will also take up the issue of religious education at school in connection with the Ministry of National Education's reduction of the number of hours of RE classes from two to one per week from the beginning of the 2025/2026 school year. “Due to the new circumstances under which teachers of religious education will have to teach in public schools and kindergartens, the necessity arose for the Committee of the Polish Bishops' Conference on Catholic Education to prepare general guidelines outlining how to use the current curriculum documents for teaching religion at school,” Bishop Marczak admitted.
Bishop Marczak conveyed that the bishops will also celebrate the Eucharist at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Justice and Social Love in Piekary Śląskie. It will be presided over by Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda SAC, President of the Polish Bishops' Conference. The second Eucharist will be celebrated by the bishops at the Archcathedral of Christ the King in Katowice, which will be presided over by Papal Legate Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz.
The Secretary General of the Polish Episcopate indicated that in connection with this year's 160th anniversary of the granting of city rights to the City of Katowice, the bishops will visit the Marshal's Office, where they will listen to a lecture on the history of Upper Silesia and the Archdiocese of Katowice in the Silesian Parliament Hall.
Before the start of the Plenary Assembly, the Presidium of the Polish Bishops' Conference and Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz will go to the monument to the fallen miners in front of the Wujek Coal Mine, where they will pray for the victims of the events of December 16, 1981.
Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference
