Henryk Gulbinowicz

Who is Henryk Gulbinowicz?

Henryk Roman Gulbinowicz is member of the clergy of Białystok, emeritus Archbishop of Wrocław and Cardinal Priest.

He entered the archdiocesan seminary where he completed his secondary studies, before being transferred to Białystok.

He was ordained by Archbishop Romuald Jalbrzykowski on 18 June 1950, and was an associate pastor at Szudzialowo. After a year of parish experience, he was sent to Lublin to continue his preparation in theology at the Catholic University of Lublin. He earned a doctorate in moral theology in 1955; from 1956 to 1959 he was university chaplain in Białystok. Following this he taught in the seminary at Warmia, while also working in the diocesan Curia of Olsztyn.

On 12 January 1970, Pope Paul VI appointed him titular Bishop of Acci, and also the apostolic administrator of the Polish section of the Archdiocese of Vilnius. The following 8 February he received episcopal ordination from the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. In charge of the Church community, he was responsible for the reorganization of the diaconate, and he also promoted the construction of new parishes. Already in 1944 he furthered the growth of religious life in his area by creating in Białystok the Parish Catechetics Center and reviving the trimestral publication "Wiadomości Kościelne Archidiecezij w Białystoku".