Kościół pw. Świętego Wincentego à Paulo
Churches of Kraków
Church (Roman Catholic), Stare Miasto district. Date according to Wikidata: 1876. Architect: Filip Pokutyński. A listed monument (heritage register). Run by: Zgromadzenie Misji.
History
A church already stood on this spot in Kleparz, on Świętego Filipa Street, in the Middle Ages. Documents from 1373 mention a church of Saints Philip and James here. It was damaged first by a fire in 1528 and then by the Swedes in 1655, and after rebuilding it was consecrated in 1667 by Bishop Mikołaj Oborski. After another fire, in 1755, the church was rebuilt once more, but in 1801 the Austrian authorities ordered it to be demolished. For several years the empty plot served as a temporary municipal cemetery.
In 1861 the Vincentian priests (the Congregation of the Mission) came to Kleparz, and two years later they became the owners of the plot on Świętego Filipa Street. The present Neo-Gothic church was built there in 1875-1877 to a design by Filip Pokutyński, who drew on models from the Italian Trecento. The high altar was brought from Vienna, and the solemn consecration on 2 September 1877 was performed by the Apostolic Nuncio in Vienna, Archbishop Lodovico Jacobini.
In 1911-1912 the church was extended to a design by Jan Sas Zubrzycki: the chancel was lengthened, and a sacristy linked to the monastery and a chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes were added. Today's high altar of white marble and alabaster was made in 1935 to a design by Franciszek Mączyński. The same artist designed the grotto-shaped altar in the Lourdes chapel, which holds a statue of the Virgin Mary brought from Lourdes in 1889 and deeply venerated by the people of Kraków. The interior also retains Neo-Gothic stalls and a pulpit from 1883, as well as stained-glass windows made in Vienna and in Kraków.
Did you know?
The right-hand side altar holds a Baroque image of Christ Crucified from 1700, known as the Milatyn Crucifix. It was brought from Rome to Milatyn Nowy near Lviv, and in 1755 it was declared miraculous. It came to Kraków in 1945 and has been in this church since 1976. The grille closing the altar was designed by Wiktor Zin.