Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
“The Sanctuary of Our Lady. I have visited it many times, from my boyhood and youth onwards. I visited it as a priest. I visited the sanctuary in Kalwaria particularly frequently as the archbishop of Krakow and a cardinal. (...) But most often I used to come here alone, and wander the paths of the Lord Jesus and His Mother, contemplating Their blessed mysteries.”
John Paul II, 7 June 1979
In this small town 35 km south-west of Krakow and approximately 15 km east of Wadowice is one of Poland’s foremost sanctuaries. It comprises a Baroque basilica under the invocation of Our Lady of the Angels, where there is a venerated miraculous painting of the Kalwaria Madonna; a Bernardine monastery; and 42 chapels and small churches dedicated to the passion of Christ and the life of Mary, scattered over a 6-km radius from the monastery.
The history of Kalwaria dates back to 1601, when Mikołaj Zebrzydowski commissioned a chapel under the invocation of the Crucifixion, inspired by the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. His initiative was pursued by his relatives, who had successive stations built devoted to the Passion of Christ, and chapels devoted to the life of Mary; the basilica and monastery were later additions.
Throughout his life, from his childhood, Karol Wojtyła, later the pope St John Paul II, made pilgrimages to the sanctuary.
The sanctuary was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in view of its artistic qualities and immense cultural and spiritual value.