Church of St Peter the Apostle in Wadowice

On the floor of St Peter the Apostle Church in Wadowice, red tiles trace the outline of St Peter's Square in Rome – including the spot where John Paul II was shot on 13 May 1981. The church is a votive offering of thanks for Karol Wojtyła's election as pope and for his survival. The pope consecrated it himself on 14 August 1991, during his second visit to his home town.

History: a votive church built over seven years

Construction began in 1984, led by Canon Michał Piosek, who became the first parish priest. In the mid-1980s a new parish of St Peter the Apostle was created here – the second in Wadowice, carved out of Wojtyła's own home parish of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1988 Cardinal Franciszek Macharski laid a foundation stone taken from St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Next to the church stands a chapel consecrated by the cardinal in 1986, and on the other side a bell tower with three bells.

The design is by the Kraków architects Jacek Gyurkovich, Ewa Węcławowicz-Gyurkovich and Przemysław Szafer. The postmodern building blends Baroque elements, St Peter's Basilica and Roman triumphal arches, while its parts refer to buildings in Wadowice, Kraków and Rome – symbolically retracing Karol Wojtyła's path to the See of Peter.

What to see

• The high altar with a copy of Perugino's Sistine Chapel fresco showing Christ handing the keys to St Peter.
• Two ribbons of red marble flowing down from the altar to form the outline of St Peter's Square. They stand for the blood the pope shed in the attack; a plaque with the date 13 May 1981 is set into the altar.
• The Our Lady of Fátima altar – the statue was a gift from the Bishop of Leiria-Fátima and Cardinal Andrzej Maria Deskur on the 10th anniversary of the assassination attempt; the pope blessed and crowned it on 14 August 1991.
• Stained-glass windows referring to the Fátima apparitions, and a Divine Mercy altar.
• The John Paul II monument in front of the church – a bronze by the Italian sculptor Luciano Minguzzi, unveiled by Cardinal Macharski after the consecration.

Did you know?

In 2003 a path modelled on Golgotha was laid out on the hill behind the church: the Stations of the Cross are joined by tablets with the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes, and a Mission Cross on the top marks the blessing of the building site. The church also serves as a shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, a stop for pilgrims following the papal trail through Wadowice.

Tripto tip

The church stands in the south-eastern part of Wadowice on national road 28, so it is an easy stop by car on the way to the market square and the Family Home of John Paul II. It is an active parish church – the interior is best seen between Masses. Allow 45–60 minutes for the church, the Fátima altar and the Golgotha path. Look down at the floor in front of the altar – the red outline of St Peter's Square is easy to miss if you only look up.