The Diocese of Łowicz () is a
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
located in the city of
Łowicz
Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,436 inhabitants (2021). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a major rail junction of central Poland, where the line from Warsaw splits into ...
in the
ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...
of
Łódż in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
.
Its cathedral, the
Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas, stands as one of Poland's official national
Historic Monuments (''
Pomnik historii
Historic Monument (, ) is one of several categories of objects of cultural heritage in Poland, objects of cultural heritage (in the singular, ''zabytek'') in Poland.
To be recognized as a Polish historic monument, an object must be declared suc ...
''), as designated November 13, 2012. This listing is maintained by the
National Heritage Board of Poland.
In 2014, it became the first and for now the only one Polish diocese since a very long time where no
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
was ordinated a priest. About 31.3% of all Catholics in the diocese attend Sunday mass, which is lower than the average for the Polish nation as of 2013.
History
* March 25, 1992: Established as Diocese of Łowicz from the
Diocese of Łódź
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...
,
Diocese of Płock
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...
and
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Warszawa
Metropolitan may refer to:
Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical)
* Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop
** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see"
* Metropolitan ar ...
Leadership
;Bishops of Łowicz
*
Alojzy Orszulik
Alojzy Orszulik S.A.C. (21 June 1928 – 21 February 2019) was a Polish Roman Catholic bishop.
Early life
Orszulik was born in Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the ...
,
S.A.C. (25 March 1992 – 27 March 2004)
*
Andrzej Dziuba (27 March 2004 – 9 March 2024)
*
Wojciech Osial (12 September 2024 – present)
Reports of sex abuse
In the summer of 2020, Piotr M., a priest of the diocese, was convicted of sexually molesting two girls in the village of
Ruszów. Investigations revealed that there had been allegations of abuse against him from 10 accusers dating back more than 30 years while he served in the
Archdiocese of Wroclaw
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...
. A spokesman for the Diocese of Łowicz said that since his conviction Piotr M. has been barred from celebrating Mass or presenting himself as a priest.
In 2024, the Nunciature to Poland said that Bishop Andrzej Dziuba was told to resign because of management issues, "in particular negligence in handling sexual abuse cases committed by some clergy against minors". He had failed to report a case of such abuse to local authorities.
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in Poland
Polish members of the Catholic Church, like elsewhere in the world, are under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Latin Church includes 41 dioceses. There are three eparchies of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the country ...
References
External links
GCatholic.org Diocese website
Roman Catholic dioceses in Poland
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lowicz
Christian organizations established in 1992
Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century
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