A large number of faithful are being counted. The Episcopate has revealed the date.

This year's Sunday religious observance survey, which measures the number of Catholics obligated to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion, will take place on October 19th in all parishes across the country. The decision was made by the Polish Episcopal Conference. Last year, the highest communicantes rate was recorded in the Tarnów diocese.

The Polish Episcopal Conference adopted a resolution regarding this year's edition of the study on Sunday religious practices .

counting Catholics obliged to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion . According to the decision, the survey will be conducted on October 19 in all parishes across the country.

SEE: This service is different from a regular Mass. Every Catholic should know why.

Traditionally, the population count in Poland takes place each year on one of the Sundays in October. Data from the Statistical Yearbook of the Catholic Church in Poland, "Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesia in Polonia," published by the Institute of Catholic Church Statistics (SAC), shows that in 2023, the Sunday Mass attendance rate was 29.2% , while the Holy Communion rate was 14.2%.

The results were similar to those of previous years. In 2022, the dominicantes rate was 29.5% , while the communicantes rate was 13.9%. In 2021, the percentage of Catholics attending Mass was 28.3% , and those receiving Holy Communion was 12.9%.

SEE: Catholics will be counted. Date set

Last year, the highest communicantes rate was recorded in the Tarnów diocese , where it reached 24.4 percent. Second place was taken by the Zamość-Lubaczów diocese , which achieved 21.1 percent. The Białystok diocese also finished third, with 20.01 percent of Catholics receiving Holy Communion.

The lowest communicantes rate in 2023 was recorded in the Archdioceses of Szczecin-Kamień and Sosnowiec . In both cases, it amounted to 8.5%.

SEE: Attack on priest during Mass. 47-year-old faces up to five years in prison

The Institute of Statistics of the Catholic Church (SAC) named after Rev. Witold Zdaniewicz was founded in 1972 by the Society of the Catholic Apostolate as the Department of Sociology of Religion . It is the oldest independent research center in Poland, conducting research on religiosity, Catholicism, and its social contexts. In pursuing its goals, it collaborates with, among others, the Central Statistical Office.