Soccer Football - Conference League - Jagiellonia Bialystok v Olimpija - Bialystok City Stadium, Bialystok, Poland - December 19, 2024 Jagiellonia Bialystok fans in the stands REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
(Reuters) -Easter is one of the most important occasions in the Polish church calendar, but Jagiellonia Bialystok's Conference League exploits have caused an Archbishop to organise an earlier Holy Thursday mass to cater for the club's fans.
Jagiellonia Bialystok, who won their first league title last season, have reached the quarter-final stage in their best ever European run, and host Real Betis on Thursday after losing the first leg 2-0 in Spain.
"It's a big week for the Catholic Church and other religions are celebrating too, but it's also a big week for Jagiellonia because on Holy Thursday at 6:45 pm they play a very important match," Archbishop Jozef Guzdek said in a video posted by the club.
"I understand because I follow the results, I'm happy about their successes, and I received a request from the fans who are close to Jesus but they would also like to attend the game.
"That's why, in the cathedral at 4 pm today there will be a mass for people that would like to be both here and there, those who would like to celebrate the mass but also support our wonderful players."
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes in KrakowEditing by Toby Davis)
