Sanctuary of St Joseph, Prudnik-Las

In this forest monastery near Prudnik, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński spent a year as a prisoner of Poland's communist authorities — and it was here, reading Sienkiewicz's historical novel "The Deluge", that he came up with the idea of renewing King John Casimir's 17th-century vows, which were later renewed at Jasna Góra. The Sanctuary of St Joseph in Prudnik-Las combines this story with over 170 years of Franciscan presence, a Lourdes grotto made of volcanic tuff and the quiet of the Prudnik Forest.

History: friars in the forest

The first brothers — Alcantarines, a branch of the Franciscans from the Saxon province — arrived in Prudnik in 1852. A local master butcher, Franz Schneider, gave them a plot in the woods, and that same summer a small friary with a chapel was blessed. After a dispute with the Bishop of Wrocław the Alcantarines left in 1855, and since 1863 the site has been cared for by the Franciscans. The foundation stone of the present modest, single-nave church was laid on 19 March 1866.

Twice the monastery was emptied by order of the authorities. In 1875, during Prussia's Kulturkampf campaign against the Catholic Church, the friars had to leave, returning only in 1887. Around 1900 the friary was enlarged and Stations of the Cross were built, and in 1903 Father Benedykt Behr built a copy of the Lourdes grotto from volcanic tuff brought from the Rhineland. At the same time the Polish-language monthly "Posłaniec Świętego Franciszka" was edited here. In spring 1945 the monastery was on the front line and was hit by 25 shells.

The Primate's prison

On 1 October 1954 the Franciscans were given two hours to leave the monastery, which was taken over by the army. It became a place of internment for Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, the Primate of Poland — the third place of his imprisonment, where he was held in 1954–1955. According to the Franciscans, it was here, inspired by "The Deluge", that the idea arose of renewing the royal vows made in Lwów, on their 300th anniversary. The friars returned at the turn of 1956 and 1957 and spent years tracking down the looted furnishings.

What to see

• the cell where the Primate was held, with mementoes of his stay,
• the church with its neo-Gothic high altar and image of St Joseph with the Christ Child — a painting linked to Brother Peter Küchler, a Danish-born painter who came here with the first friars,
• the Lourdes Grotto of 1903 and the Stations of the Cross rebuilt to match it,
• a monument to the "Primate of the Millennium", blessed in 1983 by Cardinal Józef Glemp.

In 1996 the Bishop of Opole, Alfons Nossol, raised the church to the status of a sanctuary. In 2021 a rebuilt bell turret was placed on the church roof, replacing one destroyed in 1956 when the friary was being converted into a children's sanatorium.

Tripto tip

The sanctuary lies on the eastern edge of the Prudnik Forest, about 4 km south-west of Prudnik town centre, at ul. Józefa Poniatowskiego 5. It is an active place of worship, so check service times before you go and ask at the friary whether you can see the Primate's cell. Allow about an hour for the church, the grotto and the cell.

The monastery lies on several waymarked footpaths, including the Mieczysław Orłowicz trail, so a visit combines easily with a forest walk. Every Wednesday the friars pray before the image of St Joseph for intentions left by visitors in the church porch.