Concerned, Father Wolański turned to the Bishop of Legnica for clarification. The response was decisive: the bishop ordered that these celebrations be limited exclusively to the final Mass in February 2025 and prohibited a return to similar practices in the future.
This is how Father Wolański describes the matter:
I will return to the beginning, when I became parish priest in Bolesławiec 14 months ago. Immediately after taking over as parish priest, people began coming forward with questions about the practice of celebrating perpetual Holy Masses at the Basilica in Bolesławiec. Concerned about the situation, I decided to ask the bishop about it. I had been taught that perpetual Masses are celebrated by religious orders, with special permission from the Holy See and the relevant superiors, who grant such permission in the Catholic Church. I asked the bishop several questions about this practice, which had taken place here in Bolesławiec before I became parish priest. I asked the question in May. On Thursday, I received the bishop’s response, together with an obligation to read what the bishop had written to our community.
Here is the official statement by Bishop Andrzej Siemieniewski:
Regarding the so-called perpetual Masses, which were reportedly to be celebrated at the Bolesławiec basilica on the third Friday of every month, the matter is as follows. Father Andrzej Jarosiewicz, the previous parish priest, left neither a register of perpetual Mass intentions nor a fund to handle offerings made for these Masses. The practice of celebrating perpetual Masses has no basis in canon law. Although the Holy See has issued no document regulating the celebration of such a Mass, some institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life have received its support in the form of a blessing. However, I do not support this practice in the Diocese of Legnica, especially with regard to parishes run by diocesan priests. Therefore, on the basis of canon 1308 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law, I reduce the obligations concerning so-called perpetual Holy Masses formerly celebrated on the third Friday of the month at the sanctuary in Bolesławiec. The reduction is to one, and at the same time the final, Holy Mass, which is to be celebrated on the third Friday of February 2025 at the Bolesławiec sanctuary, with the faithful informed in advance of the ordinary’s final decision. At the same time, I prohibit the introduction of a new practice of celebrating such Masses. In accordance with canon 948 of the Code of Canon Law, Holy Masses must be celebrated separately according to the intentions of those who made separate offerings and whose offerings were accepted. Taking this opportunity, I thank the priest for his concern for the dignity and validity of the celebration of the Eucharist.
Andrzej Siemieniewski, Bishop of Legnica
Controversial Parish Priest Jarosiewicz
There had long been widespread discussion of the former parish priest from Bolesławiec. He was considered a clergyman unfriendly toward people. In December 2023, based on publicly available material on social media, Grażyna Hanaf and Krzysztof Gwizdała from the istotne.pl editorial team prepared a report about the priest and a young celebrity. We believe that the priest and the celebrity sued an editor of istotne.pl in a civil court in Jelenia Góra in 2024, and later brought criminal proceedings, this time in Bolesławiec, precisely in order to block the film and remove it from the internet.
The istotne.pl editorial team was the only one in the country to address this socially important issue, about which others remain silent or write “a moral matter.” Please support our fight. We face a years-long legal battle. You can help us ensure that the truth prevails.
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