Poland’s Catholic church recruits priests from Africa and Asia to stave off vocations crisis
Marcin Choduń With the number of Poles training to be priests falling steadily, parishes are looking beyond Europe to fill the gaps.
Poland’s Catholic Church is turning to priests from Africa and Asia to combat a severe shortage of clergy, as the number of Polish-born priests is dwindling. Father Fransiskus Laka, a Verbite priest from Indonesia, has been the parish priest in Brzegi, near Zakopane, for the past two years. He has become accustomed to Poland’s cold winters, often venturing out in just a T-shirt to perform necessary tasks.
Many foreign priests are now being recruited to study at Polish seminaries due to the shortage. African countries like the Central African Republic and Angola are sending seminarians to Poland, with priests from these regions sometimes serving in Poland for a few years before returning to their home dioceses. The shortage has forced some seminaries to merge or close down, causing significant challenges for those remaining.
Written by urgent.news from Notes from Poland's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
