Kościół pw. Miłosierdzia Bożego (ul. Józefa Brodowicza)
Churches of Kraków
Parish church (Roman Catholic), Grzegórzki district. Architect: Stanisław Niemczyk. A parish is a community of believers tied to a particular church.
History
The Church of Divine Mercy on the Oficerskie estate, on Biskupa Bandurskiego Street, was built after years of effort and obstacles. As early as the 1970s Cardinal Karol Wojtyła sought a church for this part of Kraków, but the authorities of the time opposed the idea. In 1982 permission was granted and preparations began, but the building permit was withdrawn. In the meantime residents prayed in a chapel set up in a residential building at Bandurskiego Street 12, and in 1985 a pastoral centre was established on the estate.
Another threat came in 1987, when the press wrote about plans for a shopping centre on the site intended for the church. The parishioners organised themselves and collected more than 5,000 signatures. In December 1988 it came to light that the owner of the plot was Edward Raczyński, the President of the Republic of Poland in exile, who lived in London. Two years later he gave the land to the Church.
At Christmas 1989 Cardinal Franciszek Macharski established the parish, and its first parish priest was Fr Zygmunt Kosek. Construction began in 1990. The foundation stone was laid on 4 April 1992 by Kazimierz Nycz, and the first Mass in the new church was celebrated on 7 June that year. Construction was completed in 1994, and the church was consecrated in 2000.
The design was by Stanisław Niemczyk and Marek Kuszewski. The building is made mainly of bricks of various shapes, sizes and colours, its roof structure is wooden, and the roof is covered with galvanised sheet metal. The Stations of the Cross on both sides of the altar wall were made in 1996 by Stanisław Dyga. The image of Divine Mercy, painted on an oak panel by Agata Skowrońska, is a copy of the painting by Adolf Hyła.
Did you know?
The stones built into the walls and the ground around the church come from Kanonicza Street. Under the table of the wooden altar, a dolomite rock has been placed.