Since August 2012, Dominican friars have been working at Katowice, at the Parish of the Transfiguration, a parish of about five thousand worshipers.  One of the first initiatives of the parish priest, Fr Michał Śliż, was to bring to the church the relic of St. Hyacinth Odrowąż, the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Katowice and the Polish Dominicans.

“We received the first-class relic of St Hyacinth, whose authenticity is confirmed by the signature of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla from the time he was the Archbishop of Kraków" - says Fr Śliż.

On 6 February 2013, in the company of a group of his parishioners, Fr Śliż travelled to Krakow. During the Mass at the tomb of St. Hyacinth in the Basilica of the Holy Trinity, the Dominicans handed over the relic to the delegates of the parish.

"We believe that St. Hyacinth’s intercession is responsible for the commencement of our missionary work in Katowice. We would like him to continue to support our mission through his intercession. It’s unimaginable and wonderful for us that the relic of St Hyacinth is presently in Katowice, the land where he is also the patron saint”, explains Fr Śliż.

The solemn introduction of the relic took place on March 2. The relic was brought into the church by the Chancellor of the Curia, Fr. Adam Pawlaszczyk. Upon entering the church, he handed it over to the parish priest, Fr Michał Śliż.

In his reflection, the chancellor attempted to characterise the mission of the Dominicans. According to him,

"Just put a Dominican on the pulpit and he will do what he ought to do, that is, he will start speaking about Jesus. His basic task is to pass on to others the fruits of his contemplation on the Word of God. Thus, those in whose presence we are now and the one whose relic we are introducing took on the apostolate of passing onto us the fruits of their contemplation."

There were Masses, worship and vigil prayers and different groups in the parish, parishioners from other parishes and Dominicans from Krakow all took part. The current Archbishop of Katowice, Wiktor Skworc, who invited the Dominicans to Katowice and entrusted the parish to them also took part in the prayers. He came in honour of St Hyacinth to venerate his relic.

On the next day, Archbishop Damian Zimoń, archbishop emeritus of Katowice celebrated the thanksgiving Mass for the safe arrival of the relic to the church. In his homily, he reminded all of the merits of the thirteenth century Dominican friar and his religious brothers, past and present, in their mission of deepening the Christian faith in Katowice and the entire country.

“The Dominicans were the first religious Order to successfully pursue an intensive preaching/pastoral mission, both in the urban and rural areas. Their motive was to reach out with faith to the greatest number of people. The exceptional achievements of St Hyacinth include; the promotion of the Eucharist, devotion to the Virgin Mary and individual confessions, and till date, these remain the distinguishing features of the Polish spirituality in the whole of Europe. His preaching mission has both spiritual and socio-political values. During the period of the feudal fragmentation of Poland, he promoted the growth of national consciousness”

Addressing the Dominicans currently working at Katowice, the Archbishop hopes that they will effectively promote the life, teachings and cult of St Hyacinth in Katowice.

Hyacinth (Polish: Jacek) Odrowąż was born in 1183 in Kamień Śląski. In 1221 after his studies at the University in Paris and the University of Bologna, together with Bl. Ceslaus (Polish: Czesław), he received the Dominican habit from the hands of St. Dominic in Rome. Soon after, the founder of the Order of Preachers sent him back to Poland.

Hyacinth founded the Dominican convents in Kraków, Gdańsk, Chełmno, Elbląg, Toruń, and also in Riga, Tartu and Königsberg. He also preached in Russia, founding convents in Kiev and Halych. He died on 15 August 1257 in Kraków. His grave is located at the Dominican Basilica of the Holy Trinity in Kraków. In 1594 Pope Clement VIII canonized him and his feastday is celebrated every August 17.