Bazylika Bożego Miłosierdzia
Churches of Kraków
Minor basilica (Roman Catholic), Łagiewniki-Borek Fałęcki district. Architect: Witold Cęckiewicz. The title of minor basilica is granted to churches by the Pope. A place of pilgrimage (shrine). A listed monument (heritage register).
History
The Basilica of Divine Mercy is the main church of the sanctuary in Łagiewniki, standing beside the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. It was in this convent that St Sister Faustyna Kowalska spent the last years of her life. She came to Kraków on 11 May 1936 and lived here until her death on 5 October 1938. She kept a Diary in which she recorded her spiritual experiences, including a vision of Jesus, who told her to paint a picture with the inscription "Jesus, I trust in You". She was first buried in the convent cemetery in Łagiewniki, and in 1966 her remains were moved to the convent chapel. Today her relics rest in a sarcophagus in the altar, beneath the Jesus, I Trust in You painting by Adolf Hyła.
The place drew pilgrims. In 1992 the Chapel of St Joseph at the convent was raised to the rank of the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy. After Sister Faustyna's beatification in 1993 and her canonisation in 2000, the sanctuary grew rapidly, helped also by papal visits: by John Paul II (in 1997 and 2002), Benedict XVI (2006) and Francis (2016).
The modern basilica was built in 1999-2002 to a design by the Kraków architect Witold Cęckiewicz. It has two levels and an ellipsoidal shape, holds 5000 people, and above it rises a 77-metre viewing tower. The lower level contains five chapels. The central one is dedicated to St Faustyna and was a gift from the Italian Church, while the four side chapels were funded by the Hungarian, German and Slovak Churches and by the Greek Catholic Church. This last one, the Chapel of Reconciliation, was consecrated on 24 June 2007, on the sixtieth anniversary of Operation Vistula. Its iconostasis and wall paintings were made by Professor Lubomyr Medwid of Lviv.
The church was consecrated by John Paul II on 17 August 2002, during his last visit to his homeland. It has held the title of minor basilica since 6 March 2003. During World Youth Day, on 30 July 2016, Pope Francis heard confessions here.
Did you know?
On the viewing tower beside the basilica stands a monument to John Paul II, unveiled on 27 May 2006 during Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to Poland. It was the seventh sculpted monument to this pope in Kraków.