October 2024

On October 7, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary. That day, the Pastoral Centre organises and hosts in St. Charles Borromeo church a rosary for peace in the world whose decades are led by five different language groups of Catholics living in Wrocław.

On October 16, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saint Hedwig of Silesia, whose patronage includes the diocese of Wrocław. Some Saturday in mid-October, the Diocese of Wrocław organises a walking pilgrimage from St John the Baptist cathedral (in Wrocław) to the tomb of St Hedwig of Silesia (in Trzebnica). 2024 was the 45th annual pilgrimage, and the motto was ‘We are the Church’. Every year, the pilgrimage includes 2-4 bishops, 120 priests, and 8,000 pilgrims. Official information can be found (in Polish) on Facebook and the dedicated website. A few selected pictures can give you an idea of the atmosphere: the photos #204 and #206 of a first article, and the photos #40, #46, #133, and #138 of a second article.

• 06:00 – Pilgrims gather in the cathedral for a brief prayer and are sent out in groups
• 07:00 – The last group of pilgrims leaves the cathedral and starts walking
• 07:00-16:00 – Four 7-km segments with 30-minute breaks between two consecutive segments (segment 1, break 1 at around 8:30 in Krzyżanowice, segment 2, break 2 at around 11:00 in Malina (buy your train ticket for the return there; pay in cash), segment 3, break 3 in Wysoki Kościół or Brochocin, segment 4)
• 16:00 – The last group of pilgrims arrives in the Shrine of St Hedwig of Silesia
• 16:30-18:30 – Solemn Mass in the field of the Shrine of St Hedwig of Silesia
• 19:02-19:48 – Pilgrims return to Wrocław Główny (Dworzec Główny) by train

Every year, a contingent of English speakers walk the pilgrimage along with the parish Group 13 (Czarna Trzynastka) carrying the flag of their country (see our 2024 post on Facebook). We welcome to join us every year! If you come, remember to bring:

• warm clothes for the cold temperatures of the morning and evening
• waterproof clothes in case it rains during the pilgrimage or Mass
• a hat and sunglasses (it may be sunny and warm by mid-day)
• water and food for the day (the paths are far from shops)
• toilet paper and a hand sanitizer (we’ll be thousands of people walking in open countryside; there are portable toilets at breaks 1 and 2 for women but breaks last 30 minutes and the queuing time is long; there are no portable toilets at break 3; there are real toilets in the Shrine)
• cash to buy your train ticket for the return to Wrocław (maximum 20zł)
• cash for the collection at Mass (free-will offering)
• cash to contribute to the organisation fees (free-will offering)
• a flag of your country (you can print it and fasten it to a wooden stick)

The Men of Saint Joseph is a group of men who gather to support one another in practicing their Christian faith from a specifically masculine perspective. All men are invited to join the Men of Saint Joseph, even if you have not attended a meeting before.

We go from the church to one of our parish rooms, usually the parish café. It’s a great time to meet old friends, catch up with people, and meet people you only see at Mass. Tea, coffee, and cookies are provided (free-will donation to cover costs if you want, but not necessary). We hope to see lots of new faces!

We go from the church to one of our parish rooms, usually the parish café. Volunteers bring a large variety of board games and decks of cards. The games range from very simple, requiring little use of English, to sophisticated strategy games or just fun party-type games. There’s truly something for everyone. Organizers are happy to teach others the rules of play, and it’s lots of fun for everyone. Feel free to invite your English-speaking friends to come and play!

The Women of Saint Gianna is a group of women who gather to support one another in practicing their Christian faith from a specifically woman’s perspective. All women are invited to join the Women of Saint Gianna, even if you have not attended a meeting before.

There are dates open still for people to sign up to take home the image of Our Lady of Grace, now in the thirtieth year since the crowning of the image. Go to the sacristy to sign up. You can take the image any week that’s free, or choose a week that’s special to you (anniversary, birthday, Marian feast, etc.).

The Pastoral Centre is organizing a course of adult instruction in the faith. Instruction is possible for baptized Catholics who have not finished their sacraments of initiation (so baptized in the Catholic Church, but you have not had First Communion and/or Confirmation yet). It is necessary for Catholics to finish their Sacraments of Initiation before they can take up an adult vocation within the Church (being a godparent, marriage, religious orders, priesthood). English-speaking Catholics (foreign or Poles connected to the Pastoral Centre) who have not finished the sacraments of initiation should definitely take this opportunity to have an adult formation in the faith in preparation for their life as an adult in the Church. Enrollment for the year 2024-2025 is now closed. If we have a course in 2025-2026, it will be advertised in September 2025 on our Facebook page and here.

Non-Catholics who are interested in exploring the Catholic Faith or who have already decided that they would like to become Catholic have a separate course. It is necessary to speak English well enough to follow the classes (all will be taught by a native-speaker of English), be able and willing to do the reading necessary, and commit to as much as 18 months of instruction (depending on a person’s background). There will also be regular meetings with Fr Szymon, who supervises instruction in the sacraments for English-speakers in this diocese. Anyone who was baptized in another Christian communion (non-Catholic Christians), people from other religions, or people of no religion are welcome to attend, and there is no obligation to convert. You will not be pressurized in any way – simply welcome. Enrollment for the year 2024-2025 is now closed. If we have a course in 2025-2026, it will be advertised in September 2025 on our Facebook page and here.