The article presents manifestations of piety of Polish nobility in the second half of XIX century and the first decades of the following century. There is a fixed canon of rites, ceremonies and customs. The sources of piety are to be found in threats to the hitherto dominant position of large-scale property posed by economic change and emancipation of different strata of society. The paper proved that noblemen sought to maintain their position in society’s religious life by fulfilling the task of ecclesiastic overseeing, presiding over religious ceremonies during a bishop’s visit as well as by underscoring close relations to a local parson. The noblemen also showed their piety by materially supporting their local parish and charity organizations operating under church’s banner. At the end of the paper it was showed that WWII and German occupation resulted in partial destruction of a traditional social and moral order. Still, a lot of nobility tried to maintain the old model of piety.