The Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Wiesław Lechowicz as bishop military ordinary for Poland, transferring him from the titular see of Lambiridi and from the office of auxiliary of Tarnów.
Msgr. Wiesław Lechowicz was born on December 22, 1962 in Dąbrova Tarnowska, diocse of Tarnów.
After completing his high school examinations, he entered the diocesan seminary, and on May 24, 1987, he was ordained a priest and incardinated in the aforementioned diocese.
He exercised his pastoral ministry as parish vicar in Krościenko on the Dunajec (1987-1991), and in the parish of Saint Jadwiga in Dębica (1991-1992). He was sent to Rome to the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, where he was awarded a doctorate in pastoral theology (1996).
In 2002 he obtained a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Kraków. From 1996 to 1998 he carried out his pastoral ministry in the parishes of Saint Nicholas in Bochnia and of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in Nowy Sacz. In 1997 he was a lecturer in homiletics and pastoral theology at the Theological Faculty of Tarnów, from 1999 to 2004 he was the prefect of studies, and from 2004 to 2008, rector.
On December 22, 2007, he was appointed titular bishop of Lambiridi and auxiliary of Tarnów and received episcopal consecration on 16 February 2008.
From November 28, 2011, to June 15, 2012, he served as diocesan administrator.
Within the Polish Episcopal Conference, he is the delegate for the pastoral care of Polish emigrants, president of the Committee for the Polish Diaspora and Polish abroad, and member of the Commission for the Clergy, Tourism, and Pilgrimages.
The new field bishop of the Polish Army is 59 years old. He has been a bishop for over 14 years, of which more than 10 are the Delegate of the KEP for the Pastoral Care of Polish Emigration. Since September 2014, his office has been operating at the Secretariat of the Polish Bishops’ Conference in Warsaw. During his service, Bishop Wiesław Lechowicz undertook many initiatives for the benefit of the Polish diaspora and Poles living abroad. He regularly visited Polish community centers and collaborated with Polish organizations. He is also the initiator of international Congresses of Polish Youth and Congresses of Polish Families. His episcopal motto are the words: “In finem diligere” (to love to the end).
The predecessor of Bishop Wiesław Lechowicz in the position of field bishop of the Polish Army was Bishop Józef Guzdek, who on July 16, 2021, was appointed metropolitan archbishop of Białystok.
