We
are an International Community of Catholics coming from many different
countries and cultures. Some of us have English as a first language
others not, what unifies us is a common need (or desire) to worship in
English language. We are always open to new people to come and worship
with us: whether of temporary or permanent residence; Catholic or
non-Catholic.
On the 6th of January 2009 Archbishop Kazimierz
Nycz issued as decree making the Community at Radna into a Personal
Parish. The decree came into effect on the 25th of January 2009 making
us 'Saint Paul's English Speaking Catholic Parish of Warsaw'. The Canon
outlining this is:
Canon 518—As
a general rule a parish is to be territorial, that is it embraces all
the Christian faithful within a certain territory; whenever it is
judged useful, however, personal parishes are to be established based
upon rite, language, the nationality of the Christian faithful within
some territory or some other determining factor.
Becoming
a Personal Parish gave our Community independence in terms of the
sacraments. Consequently, we have to run our own Parish Office and
Parish Records, and be in constant touch with the Archbishop's office.
Fr Wiesław, previously our Chaplain, became our Rector. At present the Parish is temporarily based at the Chapel of the
Blessed Virgin Mary of the Miraculous Medal, ul. Radna 14, in the house
of the Congregation of St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Society. We do
not own the building that Mass is celebrated in and the Parish Office
is based. Accordingly, the community has to rent these from the
Congregation of St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Society.
The
Augustinian Order in Poland has been appointed to provide priests for
the English Speaking Catholics of the Archdiocese of Warsaw. To date,
our community has been served by four members of the Augustinian
community, whose mother-house in Poland is based in Krakow. Our
community is responsible for covering the chaplain’s expenses, and for
providing for the spiritual formation of current Augustinian novices.
In this way we contribute to the needs of the Church and education of
the future priests. Further information on the Augustinian Order can be
found on
http://www.aug.org/
