Divine Mercy Sanctuary, Kraków-Łagiewniki

Above the Łagiewniki district rises a white, elliptical building shaped like a boat, with a slender tower topped by a cross beside it. This is the Basilica of Divine Mercy, the newest part of a shrine that pilgrims from around the world call the world capital of the Divine Mercy devotion. Its heart, however, is still a modest neo-Gothic convent chapel where St Faustina Kowalska lived and died.

History: from convent to world shrine

The convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy was built in the late 19th century, and the chapel of St Joseph was blessed in 1891. Sister Faustina wrote her famous Diary here and died here in 1938. For years her grave lay in the nuns' cemetery; in 1966 her remains were moved into the chapel. In 1968 Cardinal Karol Wojtyła listed the chapel as a shrine of the archdiocese, and in 1992 Cardinal Franciszek Macharski raised it to the rank of the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy.

The real growth came after Faustina's beatification in 1993 and canonisation in 2000. Between 1999 and 2002 a new basilica designed by Witold Cęckiewicz was built, and on 17 August 2002 John Paul II consecrated it during his last pilgrimage to Poland. Benedict XVI (2006) and Francis (2016) also prayed here.

What to see

• Chapel with the Divine Mercy image – a side altar holds the painting by Adolf Hyła, blessed on 16 April 1944. A small casket with St Faustina's relics lies beneath the altar, and display cases of votive offerings line the walls.
• The basilica – the two-level church holds about 5,000 people. Above the tabernacle hangs an image of the Merciful Jesus by Jan Chrząszcz, set into a bush-like design.
• Lower-level chapels – five chapels arranged in a fan, several furnished by churches from other countries: the central St Faustina chapel (Italian), Communio Sanctorum with mosaics (Hungarian), Holy Cross (German), Our Lady of Sorrows (Slovak) and the Greek Catholic chapel of St Andrew with an iconostasis.
• Viewing tower – 76 metres high, with a terrace more than 40 metres up, reached by 315 steps or a lift. A statue of John Paul II, unveiled in 2006, stands by the tower.
• Convent cemetery – south of the basilica, where Faustina's first grave was from 1938 to 1966.

Interesting facts

The basilica's shape recalls a boat or an ark, a refuge for those who trust in God's mercy. The district takes its name from the old "łagiewniki", makers of wooden or leather vessels called "łagwie". Next door, at the Solvay chemical works, young Karol Wojtyła worked during the Second World War.

Tripto tip

Allow 1.5–2 hours for the chapel, basilica and tower. Every day at 15:00 pilgrims gather for the Hour of Mercy prayer, the busiest time in the chapel – come in the morning if you want quiet. There is parking for cars and coaches, and a footbridge called the Bridge of Mercy leads to the St John Paul II Sanctuary. You can arrive by tram (stop: Sanktuarium Bożego Miłosierdzia) or by train to the Kraków Sanktuarium station, opened in 2016. This is an active place of worship, so avoid sightseeing during Mass.