Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows in Limanowa

The stone basilica with its 60-metre tower dominates the centre of Limanowa and is the main Marian shrine of the Island Beskids. Its altar holds a 14th-century Pietà carved from limewood, crowned in 1966 by Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, and the church itself was built in 1910–1918 as a votive offering for the centenary of the Constitution of 3 May. It is one of the most interesting examples of the Polish national style in the church architecture of Lesser Poland.

History: three churches on one spot

The parish was founded around 1513 by Achacy Jordan, who built the first wooden church here. It burned down in the great town fire of 1769 – only the miraculous statue and a late-Gothic font from 1527 were saved. The second wooden church survived until 1909, when it was dismantled to make room for a larger church for the growing numbers of pilgrims. At the initiative of parish priest Father Kazimierz Łazarski an open competition was held, won by Warsaw architect Zdzisław Mączeński. Bishop Leon Wałęga consecrated the church on 2 October 1921, and on 3 May 1991 John Paul II raised it to a minor basilica. Since 2018 it has also been a collegiate church.

What to see

• The façade – a monumental Crucifixion sculpture, below it a crowned Polish eagle and the dates 1791–1891. The walls are faced with stone, and the building draws on motifs from the old wooden churches of the Island Beskids; inspiration also came from churches in Hungary and Finland, including Tampere Cathedral.
• The Limanowa Pietà – a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows carved from a single limewood trunk, about 90 cm tall (about 1 m with the crown). Prof. Józef Dutkiewicz attributed it to the Silesian school of sculpture of 1300–1375.
• Murals and stained glass – paintings by Adam Miksz, including the composition 'From plague, famine, fire and war', round windows designed by Józef Mehoffer and works by Wincenty Gawron.
• The church square – cloisters with statues of the Virgin from around the world, a Lourdes grotto, a monument to John Paul II by Czesław Dźwigaj and a carillon of 19 bells.

Did you know

According to parish tradition, the statue came to the Limanowa area from Hungary during the Reformation and around 1545 was hung on a wayside lime tree in Mordarka. When an 18th-century parish priest tried to move it to Limanowa, the owner of the Mordarka manor stole it back from the church at night – it was finally transferred only in 1753. After the crown was stolen in 1981, John Paul II crowned the Pietà again in Kraków on 22 June 1983. The basilica also has a new 55-stop organ by the Slovenian firm Škrabl – according to the parish, the largest instrument in the Diocese of Tarnów.

Tripto tips

The basilica stands right in the centre at ul. Jana Pawła II 1, a few steps from the market square. Most pilgrims come for the Great Marian Indulgence on 15–22 September, which ends with a procession to the Chapel of Graces in Mordarka. Allow 45–60 minutes to see the interior and the square at a calm pace, and choose a time between Masses.