EUROPE/POLAND - Study done on the religious practices of Polish Catholics: 44.2% regularly attend Sunday Mass, 17.6% receive Communion

Czestochowa (Agenzia Fides) – “Niedzela,” the most widely-read Catholic weekly in Poland, today published a study on religious practices in Poland. The study was performed by the Institute for Catholic Church Statistics, under the guidance of Father Witold Zdaniewicz. The study presented statistical data on “Sunday Mass goers” and “Communicants” (those that receive the Eucharist in the Mass).
According to the study, 44.2% of Polish Catholics participate in the Mass every Sunday and 17.6% receive Communion during the Mass. As to the importance of ass on Sunday in the lives of faithful in the homeland of Karol Wojtyla, the study reveals that the areas with the highest number of faithful attending Mass on Sunday are the Diocese of Tarnow (72%), followed by the Diocese of Rzeszów (68.5%) and the Archdiocese of Przemyśl (64.2%). On the contrary, the areas with the lowest number of faithful attending Sunday Mass are the Archdioceses of Łódź (28.6 %), Szczecin-Kamieńsk (29.3 %), and Koszalin-Kołobrzeg (30.5%).
According to the study, receiving Communion is also of great importance for their spiritual life. The study showed that the areas where the faithful most receive Communion are in the Dioceses of Tarnow (25.6%), Łomża (23.1 %), and Opole (22.8%). The least were in the Dioceses of Szczecin-Kamieńsk (12 %), Koszalin-Kołobrzeg (12,.3%), and Elbląd (12.7 %). (MF/SL) (Agenzia Fides 11/6/2008)