Jagiellonia fans did the impossible. They begged the metropolitan regarding Holy Saturday

There is no traditional mass celebrated in the Catholic Church on Holy Saturday. On this day, a special Easter Vigil is planned, which is celebrated after dark. However, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Białystok, Archbishop Józef Guzdek, agreed to the request of Jagiellonia fans and made an exception for them.

Holy Saturday. Jagiellonia fans postponed the Holy Mass

In the church of St. Charles Borromeo in Białystok, Holy Saturday will be divided into two masses. One at the usual time and the other earlier, for fans interested in the evening match. They will be able to come to the temple located near the city stadium as early as 5 p.m. to be on time for the clash with the Ekstraklasa leader Lech Poznań at 8:15 p.m. Jagiellonia is in third place, only 3 points behind. There is no need to explain that for both teams this is perhaps the most important match of the season.

The curia’s announcement emphasized that “taking advantage of his authority to grant dispensations for the spiritual good of the faithful”, the archbishop exceptionally agreed to the 5 p.m. Mass. This was explained by the awareness that “a large number of the faithful would be deprived of the opportunity to participate in this celebration.”

A group of fans was to report to the hierarchy about this matter. As the spokesman for the Archdiocese of Białystok said, last year it was similar and the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday was moved to an earlier time. – Back then it was also about a sporting event – ​​emphasized priest Jarosław Błoński, recalling the match against Real Betis.

Białystok. Archbishop’s decision regarding Holy Saturday criticized

In an interview with the tvn24.pl portal, one of the Podlasie priests anonymously criticized the archbishop’s decision. – I do not agree to this practice. It is not the Holy Saturday liturgy that should be moved, but the match. It is also absurd that the liturgy will be celebrated twice on this day. There is one service on Holy Saturday at 7 p.m. Duplicates should not be made. The match should take place either at different times or on another day – he thundered.

Jerzy Kopania, an ethicist from Podlasie, was also critical in a comment for the same portal. – Here we have an example of increasingly deeper and wider secularization. This is very sad. What once organized our social life, i.e. the annual cycle of holidays and experiencing certain days in a special way, is now disappearing, he said.