The International Old Catholic Bishops’ Conference (IBC) of the Union of Utrecht announced that it is ending its mission with Old Catholic parishes in Italy effective July 1, 2011. Several parishes affiliated with with the IBC or The Episcopal Church (TEC) in Europe, especially in Italy, have recognized a consistency in faith and Tradition with the PNCC, and have sought recognition and oversight from the PNCC.
A Synod and convocation of the Nordic Catholic Church will be held from Friday, August 5th through Sunday, August 7th.
The Synod will take place at St. John the Baptist Church, Oslo, on Friday, August 5th beginning at 10am. Holy Mass will be held in St. John’s Church beginning at 4:30pm with its principal celebrant the Rt. Rev. Thaddeus Peplowski of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese of the PNCC. A cultural evening will follow at Lovisenberg Guesthouse beginning at 7pm.
On Saturday, August 6th the day will begin with Lauds in St. John’s Church at 9am. From 10am to 12pm there will be a presentations in the chapel of the Catinka Guldberg Centre. Bishop Peplowski will speak on: “My vision for Norway, then and now.” Bishop Flemestad will present: “Faith and Hope – The Road Ahead.” A children’s program will also be held simultaneous to the presentations. Lunch at Catinka Guldberg Centre will begin at 12pm. At 4:30pm Bishop Roald Nikolai Flemestad will be officially installed as Bishop of the Nordic Catholic Church by Bishop Thaddeus Peplowski during Holy Mass at St. John the Baptist Church. Bishop Flemestad will be the principal celebrant. There will be a reception immediately following at the Lovisenberg Guesthouse.
On Sunday, August 7th Holy Mass will be held at St. John the Baptist Church at 11am. A reception will follow at the Cathinka Guldberg Centre.
Bishop Jerzy Szotmiller of the Polish Catholic Church reposed in the Lord this afternoon, July 31, 2011, in Częstochowa, Poland. May Your servant and bishop Jerzy rest in peace O Lord!
Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and may the perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.
Wieczne odpoczynek racz mu dać Panie, a światłość wiekuista niechaj mu świeci.
Niech odpoczywa w pokoju, Amen.
Ś.P. Bishop Jerzy was born in Warsaw, Poland on February 20, 1933. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in the Polish Catholic Church by Bishop Maksymilian Rode on February 24, 1961. From October 1975 to November 1976 he served the Polish National Catholic Church in Brazil. On July 29, 1979 he was consecrated Bishop of the Polish Catholic Church in Holy Ghost Cathedral, Warsaw, Poland by the Prime Bishop of the Polish Catholic Church, Most Rev. Dr. Tadeusz Ryszard Majewski with co-consecrators Most Rev. Francis Rowiński (PNCC), Rt. Rev. Joseph Niemiński (PNCC), and Most Rev. Emeritus Maksymilian Rode.
From 1979 to 1986 he served as Suffragan Bishop for the Warsaw Diocese while also serving the Cathedral Parish of Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Częstochowa. He was appointed Bishop Ordinary of the Kraków-Częstochowa Diocese as of June 9, 1986, and held that position until his death. He was predeceased by his wife Regina.
Ś.P. Bishop Jerzy was actively involved in the ecumenical movement, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and ecumenical meetings in the Silesian region of Poland.
A Requiem Holy Mass will be celebrated on August 5, 2011 at 12 noon in the Cathedral Parish of Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Częstochowa.
When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. — Matthew 14:15-21