Appointment of coadjutor archbishop of Katowice, Poland

The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Adrian Józef Galbas, S.A.C., as coadjutor archbishop of the metropolitan archdiocese of Katowice, Poland, transferring him from the titular see of Naisso and the office of auxiliary of Ełk.

Curriculum vitae

Archbishop-elect Adrian Józef Galbas, S.A.C., was born on 26 January 1968 in Bytom in the diocese of Gliwice. In 1987 he was admitted to the novitiate of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines). He subsequently studied at the major seminary of the same Society in Ołtarzew, and on 7 May 1994 he was ordained a priest.

After priestly ordination he first served as vicar in the parish of Saint Michael Archangel in Łódź (1994-1995). He was then awarded a licentiate in pastoral theology from the John Paul II Catholic University in Lublino (1995-2998). He went on to serve as prefect of discipline in the major seminary of the Pallottines in Ołtarzew (1998-2002), provincial counsellor in Poznań (2002-2005) and parish priest of Saint Lawrence (2003-2011).

In 2012 he was awarded a doctorate in spiritual theology from the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński  University in Warsaw. From 2011 to 2019 he was provincial of Poznań for the Society of the Catholic Apostolate.

On 12 December 2019 he was elected to the titular see of Naisso and appointed auxiliary of the diocese of Ełk. He received episcopal consecration on 11 January 2020.

Within the Episcopal Conference he is president of the Council for the Lay Apostolate.

He knows German well, and speaks Italian, English, Spanish and Russian.