Bazylika Świętego Franciszka z Asyżu
Churches of Kraków
Minor basilica (Roman Catholic), Stare Miasto district. Date according to Wikidata: 1269. The title of minor basilica is granted to churches by the Pope. A place of pilgrimage (shrine). A listed monument (heritage register). Run by: Franciszkanie Konwentualni (OFMConv).
History
The Franciscans were brought to Kraków from Prague by Duke Henry the Pious in 1236 or 1237. The church on Wszystkich Świętych Square was enlarged around 1269 and consecrated that same year under the dedication to St Francis of Assisi. The rebuilding was initiated by Duke Bolesław the Chaste, who was buried here in 1279. The church is also the resting place of Władysław Łokietek's sons, Stefan and Władysław, and from 1269 to 1630 the coffin of Blessed Salomea, Bolesław's sister, stood in a crypt by the chancel.
In the 15th century the church was considerably enlarged: in 1401 the chancel was lengthened, and in 1420-1436 the main body was rebuilt as an asymmetrical two-aisled hall. It was consecrated again in 1436 by Cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki. The church was damaged by fire many times, including in 1462, 1476 and 1655. The largest fire broke out in 1850 and destroyed much of the building. The rebuilding was then carried out by Teofil Żebrawski and Antoni Stacherski under the direction of Karol Kremer, and at the end of the 19th century the work was continued by Władysław Ekielski and Karol Knaus.
The interior is decorated with works by Stanisław Wyspiański: the wall paintings in the chancel, stained-glass windows with the elements and figures of St Francis and Blessed Salomea, and above the choir the stained-glass window "God the Father - Let It Be" from 1904. In the Chapel of the Passion hang fourteen paintings of the Stations of the Cross, painted by Józef Mehoffer in 1933-1946. The Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows holds the image of the Sorrowful Benefactress of Kraków, venerated for centuries and crowned in 1908 by Cardinal Jan Puzyna.
On 23 February 1920 the church became one of the first in Kraków to receive the title of minor basilica. It is a triple shrine: of Our Lady of Sorrows, Blessed Salomea Piastówna and Blessed Aniela Salawa. Among those who lived in the friary was St Maximilian Maria Kolbe, who served here as a priest in 1919-1922.
Did you know?
In June 2015 explorers from the SAKWA Association, together with archaeologists, discovered previously unknown crypts beneath the Chapel of the Passion. An endoscopic camera revealed about twenty coffins in very good condition, and ground-penetrating radar scans suggest there may be an even lower level beneath them.