Kościół pw. Świętego Jana Chrzciciela
Churches of Kraków
Parish church (Roman Catholic), Prądnik Czerwony district. Architect: Wojciech Obtułowicz. A parish is a community of believers tied to a particular church.
History
The Church of St John the Baptist stands in Prądnik Czerwony, near the historic chapel of the same dedication. When a new parish was being set up here in the early 1980s, the faithful first prayed in that chapel and then under a makeshift roof next to it. The parish was established in 1982, and the church was built on the site of a former Dominican farm.
The square-plan design was prepared by Wojciech Obtułowicz and Danuta Olędzka. Construction began in April 1984, and in December 1989 the walls were solemnly blessed. The whole church was consecrated by Cardinal Franciszek Macharski in 2000. The Postmodernist building has a façade of bare brick with irregularly placed windows, and its multi-ridged roof is covered with brown metal sheeting. The centrally placed tower serves as a belfry; it holds the "John Paul II" bell, cast in bronze in 1998 and weighing about 500 kilograms.
In front of the main entrance stands a 23-metre cross brought from Kraków's Błonia Park, where it was part of the papal altar in 1983. In the south wall you can see the foundation stone that John Paul II blessed on Błonia Park in June 1983. The main doors, called the St John's Doors of Faith, are a bronze relief by Wincenty Kućma showing the baptism of Christ in the Jordan, the descent of the Holy Spirit and the Last Supper; the wavy texture is meant to evoke water and flowing grace. The same artist created the sculpture "Baptism in the Jordan" in the high altar and the crucifix in the nave.
The interior has three aisles in a pseudo-basilica layout and light-coloured walls. The windows are decorated with stained glass by Danuta and Witold Urbanowicz, and in 2007-2008 a 42-stop pipe organ was installed, which came from the Baroque Augustinian church in Nuremberg.
Did you know?
The main doors inspired the composer Dominik Pietraszko to write the "St John's Triptych" for organ and soloists, which was first performed on 24 June 2014.