Sanctuary in Święta Woda

The Święta Woda Sanctuary (roughly "SHVYEN-tah VOH-dah", meaning "Holy Water") in Wasilków, just north of Białystok in northeastern Poland, is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the Podlasie region. A white church of Our Lady of Sorrows sits on a hill above a healing spring, surrounded by open-air chapels and a striking Hill of Crosses covered with thousands of votive crosses. Even if you are not a pilgrim, it is a memorable glimpse of living Polish Catholic tradition.

Where it is and how to get there

Wasilków borders the city of Białystok, the capital of Podlaskie province, about 200 km northeast of Warsaw. Trains from Warsaw to Białystok typically take a little over two hours; from central Białystok the sanctuary is a short drive or a ride on city bus line 100, which has a stop called Wasilków/Święta Woda (check the current BKM timetable, as some runs terminate earlier).

A short history

Local legends about the spring go back to the Middle Ages, but the first documented healing dates from 1719, when the leaseholder of the paper mill in nearby Supraśl reportedly regained his sight after washing his eyes in the water. In gratitude he funded a wooden chapel over the spring, consecrated that same year by the Basilian monks of Supraśl, who then belonged to the Eastern-rite (Uniate) Church.

The site's history mirrors the turbulent story of this borderland. After the Russian Empire abolished the Uniate Church in 1839, the chapel passed to the Orthodox Church, which built a new chapel in 1876. During World War I the original icon of Our Lady of Sorrows was taken deep into Russia and never returned. After Poland regained independence, the chapel was handed to Roman Catholics on November 30, 1921. Damaged in World War II, it was rebuilt in 1949 by Father Wacław Rabczyński, who also built a fieldstone grotto over the spring modeled on Lourdes. The archdiocese established the sanctuary in 1997 and a parish in 1998.

Things to see

• The church of Our Lady of Sorrows, with a newer image of the Sorrowful Mother enthroned in the main altar in 2006.
• The grotto and spring, the original heart of the site, where outdoor Masses are held in the warmer months.
• The Hill of Crosses, begun in the late 1990s and inspired by the famous Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai in Lithuania. Pilgrims add new crosses every year; a 25-meter Jubilee Pilgrims' Cross towers above them, alongside memorial crosses for Siberian deportees and for the victims of the 2010 Smolensk air crash.
• The Seven Sorrows chapels, blessed in 2003, plus symbolic pools named Bethesda and Siloam, rosary shrines and a modern bell tower from 2006.

Practical information (as of October 2026)

• Address: ul. ks. Wacława Rabczyńskiego 2, 16-010 Wasilków.
• Admission: free; the grounds are open and there are no tickets.
• Mass times: weekdays at 15:00 and 18:00; Sundays and holidays at 8:00, 10:00, 12:00, 15:00 and 18:00. An extra 20:00 Mass runs only from May 1 to September 15, so it is not offered in fall and winter.
• Contact: +48 538 570 400 or +48 602 500 704, swietawoda@archibial.pl. Services and signage are in Polish.
• Allow 1 to 1.5 hours for the church, grotto and Hill of Crosses. Paths are partly grassy and uneven between the crosses.

Is it worth visiting? If you are in Białystok or exploring Podlasie, yes: it is free, close to the city and quite unlike anything in Western Europe. Be respectful during services, dress modestly and avoid photographing worshippers. The busiest days are the main feasts, including Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15, and the September walking pilgrimage.

Nearby

Combine the visit with Supraśl, a small town with a historic Basilian monastery and an icon museum, or with Białystok's Baroque Branicki Palace. The Knyszyn Forest, a large woodland with walking and cycling trails, begins just beyond Wasilków.