Kościół pw. Niepokalanego Poczęcia Najświętszej Marii Panny
Churches of Kraków
Church (Roman Catholic), Prądnik Biały district.
History
The church on the Azory estate, at 41 Józefa Chełmońskiego Street in the Prądnik Biały district, is run by the Franciscans. The parish has existed since 1940 and belongs to the Kraków-Krowodrza deanery of the Archdiocese of Kraków.
The foundation stone was set in the ground on 4 May 1974 by Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, then Archbishop of Kraków. The stone came from the Grotto of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Earlier, on 16 April 1973, it had been blessed by Pope Paul VI. The Postmodernist design was prepared by the architects Przemysław Gawor, Małgorzata Grabacka and Jan Grabacki. The walls went up within two years, in 1974 and 1975, and on 15 December 1975 the building was put into use in its unfinished shell state.
Although the church is built of brick, its interior is finished with wood panelling to give the impression of a wooden church. Its distinctive feature is a set of icons in the Orthodox style, the work of the Kraków artist Jerzy Nowosielski.
Did you know?
The Mandylion icon at the centre of the altar is very similar to a work by Jerzy Nowosielski in the Orthodox Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Szpitalna Street in Kraków.