Onet, Wirtualna Polska, Wprost, Wyborcza, TokFM and the Polish Press Agency have recently written extensively about Father Andrzej Jarosiewicz, the longtime parish priest of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bolesławiec (Bolesławiec County), who in December 2023 was transferred by the Bishop of Legnica to a smaller parish in Węgliniec (Zgorzelec County). The reason was allegedly the priest’s “burnout” after carrying out investments worth many millions.
The priest Andrzej Jarosiewicz arranged his own promotion in the national media, and was later helped by the current parish priest of the Bolesławiec basilica, Father Bogusław Wolański, together with Bishop Andrzej Siemieniewski.
In December 2024, a man contacted wp.pl and described what happened to him when he wanted to bury his grandmother. We reported on the matter for wp.pl in the article: The priest allegedly told a parishioner: find another idiot to bury your grandmother! The priest’s response caused his name to appear in the headlines of national portals.
In November 2024, we were the first to write about the excessive funeral fees set by Father Jarosiewicz in Węgliniec, in the article: Father Jarosiewicz has a price list for sacramental services. Parishioners in Węgliniec: that is a lot of money.
At the beginning of February 2025, another issue involving Father Jarosiewicz emerged. This time, parish priest Bogusław Wolański helped bring it to light. Shortly after taking over the parish from Jarosiewicz, he discovered that so-called “perpetual Masses” had been celebrated in the basilica for years—a practice not grounded in canon law and without any official documentation. Father Wolański asked the bishop about it, and it emerged that the bishop had not given Jarosiewicz permission to celebrate such Masses.
Alongside the issue of high funeral fees and the celebration of perpetual Masses without permission, the national media also wrote extensively about another matter that we cannot report on because the priest sued us and we are awaiting the hearing.
Controversial parish priest Jarosiewicz
There had been considerable attention surrounding the former parish priest from Bolesławiec for a long time. He was regarded as a clergyman unfavourable toward people. In December 2023, based on materials publicly shared on social media, Grażyna Hanaf and Krzysztof Gwizdała from the istotne.pl editorial team prepared a report. We believe that the priest and a young man sued the editor of istotne.pl in a civil court in Jelenia Góra in 2024 precisely in order to block and remove this film from the internet, and later brought criminal cases in Bolesławiec.
Please support our legal fight with the priest. Here is the address where you can make a donation: zrzutka.pl/hb6dc7