Priest installs solar panels on historic church in Poland without permission

A priest has installed solar panels on the roof of a historic church in the centre of Gdańsk as part of an effort to reduce energy bills and follow Pope Francis’ call for a greener lifestyle.

However, he did so without obtaining permission, and angry local residents have notified the regional conservator of historical monuments.

The solar panels recently appeared on the roof of the Basilica of St. Brygida, whose history dates back to the 14th century. They were installed on the initiative of Father Ludwik Kowalski, who wanted to cut electricity costs that amount to up to 15,000 zloty (€3,366) a month.

He also told local news service Zawsze Pomorze that, “in making this decision, I was guided by Pope Francis’ encouragement for a greener lifestyle”.

Kowalski claims that he deliberately placed the solar panels in a way that would mean they were not visible from the street. However, local residents said they could, in fact, be seen, with one sending photographic evidence to Zawsze Pomorze.

“We can see them from our windows, and it spoils the view,” a resident of a nearby building told the website. “Besides, it’s about the fact itself. I doubt that the parish priest would have permission for something like this.”

Photo sent to Zawsze Pomorze

The priest himself admits that he did not seek permission from the conservation officer. He explained that the roof of the church, which was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War, is new and that contains no wood or other flammable materials.

After protests by locals, however, Kowalski decided to move the panels to a less visible location. In the opinion of residents and the conservator, however, this does not solve the problem.

“Solar panels on the roof of St Brigid’s? Jesus Christ!” regional conservator Igor Strzok told Zawsze Pomorze. “As I understand it, the priest set this up without our consent. I, in any case, did not sign anything like that.”

According to Strzok, the fact that the panels cannot be seen from street level changes nothing, as they will be visible from nearby towers, including those open to the public, such as the tower of the Main Town Hall and of St Mary’s Church, a historic landmark.

Poland has seen a boom in solar panels in recent years, with the amount of electricity from micro-installations doubling last year. The country installed the third most new solar capacity among all EU member states in 2022.

Renewable energy sources have also been embraced by some Catholic parishes. In 2019, a priest in the small town of Pleszew drew international attention when he installed a cross made from solar panels on the front of his church.

Last month, the dioceses of Płock and Toruń in central Poland opened a solar power plant that will produce enough green energy to power over 1,200 households.

Main image credit: Krzysztof Rakowski/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY-SA 3.0)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.