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You are here: Home / Archive / Polish clergy filling Western Europe’s Catholic gaps

Polish clergy filling Western Europe’s Catholic gaps

July 1, 2006 by Richard Cimino

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While much of Europe is suffering from a shortage of priests, Poland’s burgeoning seminaries and rectories are playing a crucial role in supplying clerics throughout the continent, reports BBC News (June 2).

About a quarter of all young men training to become Roman Catholic priests in Europe are Polish. There are 7,131 seminarians preparing for the priesthood in Poland. In contrast, traditionally Catholic Spain–with a similar population– has fewer than 1,800 seminarians. Poland has traditionally sent missionaries to countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, but the demand in Europe is soaring. There are already more than 100 Polish priests working in England and Wales.

The Vatican is “clearly hoping that Poles can inject a shot of Catholicism into more secular countries in Europe,” according to the article.

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