{"id":16818,"date":"2022-04-19T21:58:12","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T19:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/?p=16818\/?p=16818"},"modified":"2026-07-23T20:54:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T18:54:24","slug":"sanctuary-of-st-john-paul-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/sanctuary-of-st-john-paul-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanctuary of St. John Paul II"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few years ago, no one imagined that the vast, industrial area full of factory chimneys will totaly change its apperance. So-called White Sea \u2013 former territory of Krakow ‘Solvay’\u00a0Soda Works was used as a storage of waste from the factory. After 1989 soda works bankrupted and some of its areas were revitalized and greened (approx. 30 hectares of green areas were created). In the middle of it, Krakow Archdiocese established new Sanctuary of St. John Paul II.<\/strong>
\n<\/p>\n

\"Sanctuary<\/p>\n

Erection of the Sanctuary of St. John Paul II<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The main initiator of mentioned idea was Cardinal and Archbishop of Krak\u00f3w Stanis\u0142aw Dziwisz<\/strong>. Looking for a suitable place for the new sanctuary he searched for a symbolic home, which Karol Wojty\u0142a never had \u2013 his apartment in Wadowice was just rented, as a student he lived in a house with his relative. Then as a priest he stayed at the parish houses in Niegowi\u0107<\/strong> and St. Florian\u2019s in Krakow<\/strong>. When Karol Wojty\u0142a become a bishop he was accommodated in Curia Palace<\/strong>, and after his election in 1978 he moved to Apostolic Palace in Vatican<\/strong>. A year after John Paul II died, the next Pope Benedict XVI blessed the foundation stone of the new sanctuary. Works started in 2008, few days before the 30 anniversary of Karol Wojty\u0142a election as a Pope. The center was named \u2018Do not be afraid\u2026\u2019<\/strong>, which is a reference to Pope\u2019s memorable words from October 1979, during the inauguration of his pontificate.<\/p>\n

\"Sanctuary<\/h3>\n

Architecture and symbolic ideas of the new sanctuary<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Center \u201cDo not be afraid\u2026\u201d was set up on a square that opens towards the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki <\/strong>and points the way to it. The square is in a size of Wadowice market<\/strong>, with a Small B\u0142onia<\/strong> next to it, where the faithful gather during a mess, and the buildings around the square, whose names refers to the values present in teachings and life of St. John Paull II: Fides (faith) Ratio (reason), Veritas (truth), and Caritas (charity). The center structure was built of brick and light stone as the “Holy City located on the hill.”<\/p>\n

The most important building of the new sanctuary is the church \u2013 a shrine of St. John Paull II<\/strong>, divided into a lower and an upper part. It was established to commemorate the person and pontificate of the Polish Pope and was set up on an octagonal plan, which is a reference to the beginnings of Christianity in early medieval Poland. The main altar wall and side walls in the upper church are covered with mosaics<\/strong> with a rich iconographic program and deep theological sense (over than 600 m2<\/sup>!).<\/p>\n

In the central place of the lower church stands the altar with relics of Holy Father<\/strong> \u2013 here you can see a bit of his blood, preserved in a glass casket. Nearby shallows are fulfilled by mosaics depicting the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and images presenting Pope\u2019s visits in shrines devoted to Virgin Mary<\/strong> (Fatima, Czestochowa, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Lourdes, Mariazell, and Altotting). Moreover, the lower temple is surrounded by chapels and oratories (worth mentioning is the Chapel Leviticus<\/strong> –\u00a0 designed on a base of the Vault of St. Leonard in the Wawel Cathedral<\/strong> and the Chapel of Virgin Mary of Ludzmierz).<\/p>\n

This sanctuary and temple is definitely a place where you still can fell the presence of John Paul II. People from all over the world come to visit it and pray in front of his relics. Undoubtedly, no one like he had an ability to unite all nations and people with different views and perspectives.<\/p>\n

Masses celebrated in the Sanctuary of St. John Paul II on Sundays and public holidays<\/strong> (in the upper church):<\/p>\n

8.00, 9.30, 11.00 (for families with children), 12.30, 17.00<\/p>\n

Masses celebrated in the Sanctuary of St. John Paul II on weekdays<\/strong> (in the lower church, in front of the Altar with Pope\u2019s relics):<\/p>\n

8:00, 10:00, 12:00, 17:00<\/p>\n

Holy Sacrament of Reconciliation<\/strong>, daily hours. 7: 30-9.00; 9.30-13.00; 15.15-18: 00<\/p>\n

Sanctuary is wide open to visitors in hours when masses are not celebrated. It should also be noted that this wonderful place is located on the pilgrimage route<\/strong>, prepared by Krakow Guide:<\/strong>\u00a0http:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/krakow-sanctuaries\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Few years ago, no one imagined that the vast, industrial area full of factory chimneys will totaly change its apperance. So-called White Sea \u2013 former territory of Krakow ‘Solvay’\u00a0Soda Works was used as a storage of waste from the factory. After 1989 soda works bankrupted and some of its areas were revitalized and greened (approx.
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13166,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-krakow-sightseeing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowzwiedzanie.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}