Kościół pw. Matki Bożej Pocieszenia
Churches of Kraków
Church (Roman Catholic), Bieńczyce district.
History
The Church of Our Lady of Consolation stands in Nowa Huta, at 15a Bulwarowa Street. It all began in 1999. By decision of Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, a parish centre dedicated to Our Lady of Consolation was set up and entrusted to the Pallottine Fathers, with Fr Józef Gwozdowski as its first parish priest. The cardinal also blessed a chapel built during the summer holidays, and before the year was out he had formally established the parish.
Work on the church itself began on 5 November 2001. The foundation stone was laid in 2006, on 7 November, by Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz. The church was consecrated in June 2022 by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Kraków, Marek Jędraszewski.
The architect, Witold Cęckiewicz, based the building not on the plan of a Latin or Greek cross but on one of the oldest symbols of Christianity: the fish. The interior was designed by Jolanta Kłosowska. Above the high altar hangs a copy of the painting of Our Lady of Consolation from Pasierbiec, painted by a folk artist. The painting was funded by Jan Matras, a soldier in the Austrian army, in thanks for surviving the Battle of Rastadt in 1793. He kept his promise in 1822 by building a chapel in Pasierbiec.
On 7 August 2022, a bench with a statue of Cardinal Macharski was unveiled in front of the church. It was designed by Mieszko Tylka, a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków.
Did you know?
The tall cross in front of the church, put up in 2010, comes from the altar on Błonia Park built for John Paul II's sixth pilgrimage to Poland in 1997. During that pilgrimage a stone was also blessed; in 2006 it was set into the church under construction, together with a stone from the tomb of St Peter in the Vatican.