Sites of Pope Wojtyla in Cracow

Cracow was the city of Karol Wojtyla, the city where he, who would become the first Polish Pope, studied, worked, and served as a humble servant of God. On May 1, 2011, Pope Wojtyla was proclaimed blessed. A day that fully enters History, a highly anticipated religious event that consecrates the figure of a man who, in many ways, changed the history of humanity.

If you want to know the story of one of the greatest figures of the last century, you need to visit the most significant historical and religious sites somehow connected to the Holy Father. After all, Karol Wojtyla never forgot these places where he spent a good part of his life and returned often as Pope.

A journey rich in spirituality in search of the traces of the Pope who, more than any other, reached the hearts of the people and the man of peace who earned the admiration even of non-believers.

The visit can start from the Debniki district where Karol Wojtyla lived when he arrived in Cracow at the age of 18 and from the house where he stayed at 1 Tyniecka Street. In the old part of the city, you can find the Jagiellonian University where young Karol studied Philosophy and where he returned to teach Ethics. Not far from the Rynek, the Market Square, the Bishops' Palace (3 Franciszkanska Street) is a must-stop. Here, in 1944, Wojtyla moved as a student of the clandestine seminary of the Archdiocese of Cracow and was ordained a priest in 1946.

Later, Wojtyla stayed in this palace first as Bishop of Cracow and then, during his travels in Poland, as Bishop of Rome. Famous is the window from which he greeted the faithful.

The pilgrimage can continue to 21 Kanonicza Street where the home Wojtyla inhabited for about ten years when he was Bishop of Cracow (1958-1967) is located, and where photos, clothes, books, and even skis tell the story of that period. Near the house is the Major Seminary where the young Wojtyla approached theology.

The visit must continue with the numerous churches in the city where the Pope prayed, celebrated masses, and performed confessions. In the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Wojtyla, since he was a boy, went to pray every day always sitting on the same bench, from the altar of the Church of Mary he delivered his sermons, and in St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, he celebrated his first mass. St. Florian's Basilica was his parish church, in the Wawel Cathedral he celebrated the ceremony in memory of his brother and deceased parents, and then, as Archbishop of Cracow, he was a titular for many years.

Moving to the outskirts of Nowa Huta, the workers' district built as a model of a socialist society, you can visit The Lord's Ark, the church that the residents of the neighborhood managed to build after 20 years of fighting against the government and the communist police. The church was built precisely where in 1967 Bishop Wojtyla laid the first stone.