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Krakow's Lagiewniki Sanctuary of Divine Mercy 

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The Shrine of Our Lord's Mercy in Krakow's Lagiewniki District 

By esthetic standards the 20th-century icon of the Lord’s Grace hardly matches other Krakow’s twenty-odd wonder-making sacred images that are usually much older and mostly valuable as objects of art. Yet devotion of thousands of believers has made the painting sacrosanct. It depicts Christ as He appeared before a visionary Polish nun, St. Faustyna Kowalska, one February evening in 1931. The Lord instructed her to commission this very likeness of Himself, complete with the caption which reads in Polish: Jesus, I trust Thee. What is more, in the series of appearances over the ensuing years He also revealed to St. Faustyna His dogma of Divine Mercy. 

 Krakow's Lagiewniki's Basilica of Divine Mercy

Krakow's Lagiewniki's Basilica of Divine Mercy dominates the sanctuary.

At first the pious sister found little understanding among her contemporaries who thought the days of miracles were long past. The Church gave rather lukewarm support to St. Faustyna and the revelations she had heard. Nonetheless, with time the knowledge of them and the cult of the picture have spread far. 

Nowadays the icon adorns many a Catholic chapel throughout the world. And pilgrims, both Polish and foreign, come daily in their thousands to pray before the original picture at the Krakow convent in the Lagiewniki area where 33-year-old Sister Faustyna died in 1938 and where she is buried. Some of the resultant faith cures are well documented. 

 

The World's center of Divine Mercy

Now the 19th-century brick convent of the Sisters of God's Mother of Mercy is part of the vast Sanctuary of Divine Mercy (Sanktuarium Bozego Milosierdzia in Polish) complete with a spacious main church, an array of chapels, a viewing tower, a hostel and a modern pastoral lodge, cafeterias, shops, parking lots, etc. 

pilgrim guide to Krakow  Pilgrim's guide to Krakow

On August 17, 2002 Pope John Paul II consecrated the sanctuary's majestic 1,600-sq-m brand-new basilica. His Holiness, previously the Krakow archbishop Karol Wojtyla, is said to be once a driving force behind the worldwide Catholic movement to worship the Lord’s Mercy with its center in the Lagiewniki sanctuary. Every year some two million pilgrims from all over the world visit the shrine. 

The Lord's Mercy icon of Lagiewniki

The Lord's Mercy icon remains
in the heart of  the sanctuary,
i.e. the convent's chapel, where
St. Faustyna's relics are also to be found.

Regular Holy Masses in the Lagiewniki Sanctuary of Divine Mercy

Every Sunday and on church holidays the faithful may hear Holy Mass in the Shrine's spacious modern basilica at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., 3:20 p.m., and 6 p.m. On weekdays and on Saturdays the service takes place at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 3:20 p.m., and 6 p.m. 

Also, there are regular Holy Mass services in the convent's old chapel with the relics of St. Faustyna. They take place at 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., noon (English Mass) and 7 p.m. on Sundays; and at 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. 

Every day there is a special prayer in the basilica in the Hour of Mercy at 3 p.m. followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. 

The Lagiewniki sanctuary's contact info

Postal address: Sanktuarium Bozego Milosierdzia, ul. Siostry Faustyny 3, 30-608 Krakow, Poland. 
Information desk's phone numbers: (+48) 122523311 or (+48) 122523333 (service available between 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.   

Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Krakow's district of Lagiewniki, how to get there. 

The sanctuary is situated some four kilometers south of Krakow's central Old Town historic district. Taxi is the most convenient means of transport. The fare from the center of Krakow to the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy should not exceed an equivalent of six euro. Conversely, you may take trams number 8 or number 19, get off at a stop called Sanktuarium, cross the busy Zakopianska street (there is an underpass), and walk some 400 meters up Siostry Faustyny street.  

Note: Special train service from Krakow Glowny central rail station, called 'papal train, to the Lagiewniki Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, Wadowice - Pope John Paul II’s birthplace, and the town of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska famous for its Calvary sanctuary is cancelled since September 1st, 2009. But a couple of regular trains still link the above places every day. Krakow Borek Falecki station is situated some 300 meters west of the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy.   

Staying overnight at the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Krakow's Lagiewniki

The nuns run a hostel with modern amenities in a converted building of their convent. Other lodging option available at the shrine is a modern two-star hotel on the premises, called a Pastoral Lodge (Dom Pielgrzyma). 


Krakow churches
Krakow numerous churches are architectural gems, art hoards, and spiritual hubs 

Wawel Cathedral on the Wawel Hill
Poland's impressive national shrine dates from the 14th century and shelters plenty of superb church art. The
Sigismund Chapel is a masterpiece of the Renaissance art and architecture. Giant Zygmunt bell of 1520 ranks with the world's largest. Most Polish kings are buried here together with the greatest national heroes.

Basilica of the Virgin Mary's at the Grand Square
Immense Gothic church, the city of Krakow's principal temple since the 13th century, boasts the world's
greatest Gothic sculpture among its many excellent works of art. Huge stained-glass widows of the chancel date from the 14th century.

Tyniec Abbey
Hilltop monastery-fortress dates from the 11th c.

Bielany Monastery
Magnificent 17th-century Baroque hermitage complex atop the Silver Mountain hovers over Krakow.

St. Norbert's Convent
Vast fortified complex on the Vistula river is home to Krakow’s once powerful Premonstratensian Sisters since the 12th c. 

Mogila Cistercian abbey of Krakow
A spiritual hub of the Krakow region since the 13th century. 


Roman Catholic Church Sunday Masses

 Sanctuary of Saint John Paul II

Christian sanctuaries in Krakow


Czestochowa
Jasna Gora Sanctuary in Czestochowa is the holiest place of Poland and one of the world’s most important destinations for pilgrims.

Kalwaria
With its 42 Baroque churches and chapels of all shapes and sizes in addition to the central basilica and the Franciscan monastery, the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska sanctuary is Europe's biggest Calvary shrine.

Skalka Sanctuary
Poland’s second holiest shrine at the site of St. Stanislav’s 1079 martyrdom. Splendid Baroque church and fine monastery modeled on a Renaissance castle.


In the footsteps of Pope John Paul II


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