Kościół pw. Najświętszego Serca Pana Jezusa, Salezjanie Pychowice
Churches of Kraków
Church (Roman Catholic), Dębniki district. Run by: Zakon Salezjanów.
History
People in Pychowice were already thinking about their own church before the war, because the village lay far from the parish church of St Joseph in Podgórze and the residents wanted independence. The outbreak of war interrupted these efforts, but during the German occupation the people of Pychowice managed to build a small votive chapel in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was blessed on 8 October 1944 by Bishop Juliusz Bieniek. After Kraków was liberated, Fr Tadeusz Adamski added a wooden hut to it, where services began to be held regularly.
The hut was makeshift and by the late 1950s it was in danger of collapsing. The new pastor, Fr Stanisław Machaj, obtained permission during the political thaw to renovate it and used it to turn the hut into a proper church. In 1957 work began on a brick nave 40 metres long, 8 wide and 13 metres high. Fr Machaj was not given permission for the pitched roof that makes the building look like a church, but he finished the work without the authorities' consent, and in retaliation they blocked his appointment as parish priest. The parish has existed since 1958, and the church was blessed by Bishop Julian Groblicki on 23 May 1962.
The church combines three structures built on the same spot, which gives it a unique look among Kraków's churches. A wooden ceiling with exposed roof trusses is a rare feature in Kraków. The high altar with a wooden figure of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was made by the Kraków sculptor Antoni Baran.
Did you know?
Fr Stanisław Machaj built the church roof without the consent of the communist authorities, who in return blocked his appointment as parish priest.