The Irish Catholic newspaper is launching a new section in Polish from this week in response to the growing number of migrant workers living here, writes Carl O'Brien, Social Affairs Correspondent
Latest figures show that up to 160,000 Polish people have registered to work here over the last two years. Up to 90 per cent are estimated to be Catholic.
The editorial on the page will be co-ordinated by Fr Jaroslaw Maszkiewicz, chaplain to the Polish community in Ireland, who is based at St Mary of the Angel's Church in Dublin.
The new page will contain news, features and opinion aimed at the Polish community in Ireland. The chaplaincy says there is widespread interest among the Polish community in the history of the church in Ireland, as well as religious and current affairs in Poland.
Among the first of the articles to appear will be a piece by the Polish ambassador to Ireland regarding road safety in Ireland.
Editor of the Irish Catholic Gary O'Sullivan said: "We have identified a desire among Polish Catholics living in Ireland to read more about their faith and to know more about the church in Ireland."
The newspaper is planning to distribute free copies in the coming weeks to churches frequented by large numbers of Polish worshippers.
It is also planning to aid Poles living in isolated areas by providing weekly Mass readings in Polish so they can follow the liturgy in their own parishes.
The Irish Catholic, the biggest-selling Catholic newspaper in Ireland, is published every Thursday.