Poznań Archdiocese sells area with houses for PLN 421 million — RMF24
In Poznań, Poland, the Poznań Archdiocese sold 12 hectares of the Maltańskie estate area to JHM Development from Skierniewice for PLN 421 million excluding VAT. After tax is added, the value of the transaction amounts to around PLN 518 million. The area contains nearly 300 plots, most of which are built up with residential houses.
Description of the area for the Vatican
As RMF24 reports, before the sale, the parish transferred the property to the archdiocese, which almost immediately sold it to the developer. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, the Holy See's permission for the transaction was issued on the basis of an application by the then Metropolitan Archbishop of Poznań, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki.
According to the outlet, the documents described the land as arable land with several structures and gazebos. At the same time, they did not mention the number of residents, the scale of residential development, or lease agreements between the parish and residents. Gazeta Wyborcza also reported that in 1998 the parish and the archdiocese informed Poznań city authorities about 288 designated plots with residential houses and sought recognition of the area as a residential development zone.
Evictions and disputed documents
Residents of the Maltańskie estate were convinced that their situation was stable. In 2024, parish priest Paweł Deskur stated at a meeting that the plots would not be sold. After the transaction was completed, evictions began: in August and September 2026, a bailiff, supported by police, carried out the first forced evictions on the basis of court rulings obtained by the parish and the archdiocese.
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According to Gazeta Wyborcza, 198 families reached agreements to move out, and 48 of them moved into municipal housing. Others are being offered accommodation owned by the Church or financial compensation.
The archdiocese did not provide journalists with the documents on the basis of which the Vatican approved the sale. The archdiocese's economist, Father Waldemar Hanas, said that Archbishop Gądecki did not use the wording about several structures and gazebos in his correspondence and that this description came from a property appraisal. He also questioned the authenticity of the translation of the Vatican document without providing the original.
According to Gazeta Wyborcza, the documents for the Vatican stated that the property generated no income. At the same time, the Greater Poland Tenants' Association estimated that by 2025 the parish could have received up to PLN 4 million in rent payments from residents. Canon law professor Rik Torfs told the outlet that omitting material information could be grounds for challenging the permission if that information had affected the Holy See's decision, but would not mean the document was automatically invalid.
