Churches & monasteries

Church of St. Peter the Apostle in Wadowice

A few minutes from the market square of Wadowice stands the church of St. Peter the Apostle — a votive offering of gratitude for the election of Karol Wojtyła as pope and for his survival of the assassination attempt of 13 May 1981. It was consecrated on 14 August 1991, during John Paul II's second visit to his home town.

From idea to consecration

The idea of a new church was taken up in Wadowice right after the pope's first pilgrimage home, on 7 June 1979. After the assassination attempt the votive intention was extended to include gratitude for saving his life. On 18 May 1986, on the pope's 66th birthday, Cardinal Franciszek Macharski consecrated the chapel, and on 1 September that year the independent parish of St. Peter the Apostle began its ministry. At the 1991 consecration a monument of John Paul II was unveiled in front of the church.

Architecture full of symbolism

The sacred complex symbolizes Wojtyła's path from Wadowice through Wawel to the See of St. Peter. The façade is crowned by an arch referring to the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and a row of arcades forms a festive processional way. A double colonnade separates the three-aisled interior, laid out on a Latin cross. The altar of red and white Carrara marble takes the shape of the floor plan of the Roman basilica, and the six-metre altar wall is crowned by a copy of Perugino's fresco from the Sistine Chapel — Christ handing the keys to St. Peter. Bands of red marble symbolize blood, and a plaque recalls the date of 13 May 1981.

In practice

The church lies a few minutes' walk from the market square and the Wojtyła family home, fitting naturally into Wadowice's papal trail. Inside, take a moment by the altar and look at the plaques commemorating the events of 1981.