The church in Niepokalanów, devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary the Immaculate, the Omni-mediatress of All Glories, was designed by the architect from Cracow -

Zygmunt Gawlik Zygmunt, Zigmunt, Zigmund and spelling variations thereof are masculine given names and occasionally surnames. People so named include: Given name Medieval period * Sigismund I the Old (1467–1548), Zygmunt I Stary in Polish, King of Poland and Gr ...

. It was built between 1948 and 1954, in difficult times for Poland. In June 1950 it became a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

for a new parish in

Niepokalanów Niepokalanów monastery (so called ''City of the Immaculate Mother of God'') is a Roman Catholic religious community in Teresin (42 km to the west from Warsaw), Poland founded in 1927 by Friar Minor Conventual Friar Maximilian Kolbe, who w ...

. Three-nave church can accommodate up to five thousand people. The height of the church tower is 47 m. Three massive, double winged doors hold symbols of the most famous places of Marian apparitions around the world. In April 1980, Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

granted the church the title of the ''

basilica minor In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular b ...

''.

Plans and construction of the church

The first idea to build a new church in Niepokalanów (or at least a large chapel), appeared before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1933 the magazine "

Rycerz Niepokalanej (English: ''Knight of The Immaculate'') is a Polish Roman-Catholic monthly magazine. It was first published in January 1922, and in Communist Poland its publication was banned from 1952 until 1981. Its founder and first editor-in-chief was Father ...

" ("The Knight of the Immaculate") wrote: ''It is necessary to build a new chapel, or - as some of the readers want - the church, because there is no room to accommodate all of us''. Unfortunately, at that time, the Franciscans did not have adequate funds to start the building. Construction plans were prepared and approved in December 1938 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. An external company was hired for analysis of the land on which the church was to stand. In May 1939, there was blessed a cross on the square assigned for building the church. The outbreak of war in September 1939, stopped the work for a long time. After the war, in June 1948, the first brick was put for the building of a new church. The design was made by the architect Zygmunt Gawlik. The church, devoted to the BVM the Immaculate, the Omni-mediatress of All Glories, could hold up to 5000 people. It was consecrated on 3 October 1954 by Bishop Wacław Majewski, who replaced the imprisoned cardinal

Stefan Wyszyński Stefan Wyszyński (3 August 1901 – 28 May 1981) was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of Lublin from 1946 to 1948, archbishop of Warsaw and archbishop of Gniezno from 1948 to 1981. He was created a cardinal on ...

. Professional co-friars worked at decoration of the interior of the church: sculptors, stonemasons, blacksmiths and so on. Many of the sculptures were made by Artist-Friar Maurycy Kowalewski, with the help of Friar Abel Dziełyński and the other friars. On the church tower there were mounted four clock bells, named: ''Knight of the Immaculata, Maximilian, Francis'' and ''Anthony''.

Architecture and specifications

Entering the church, a visitor can see the statue of Our Lady Immaculate in the main altar. This statue is a work of Maurycy Kowalewski and Abel Dziełyński, friars-sculptors from Niepokalanów. In the chapel of St. Joseph (on the right side of the church) there are two important mosaics. The first of them (round mosaic) commemorates the baptism of Poland. The Latin inscription says: ''Mesco dux baptizatur - Polonia semper fidelis - 966-1966'' ( Prince Mieszko baptized - Poland is always faithful - 966-1966). The second, huge mosaic (placed on the wall) shows Jesus the Merciful and the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady. Niepokalanow basilica fc02

The chapel on the left side is dedicated to St. Maximilian Kolbe. A

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

statue of the saint, placed in the central part of the chapel, offers the entire globe to the Mother of God. On the chapel walls there are hung many votive offerings, in thanksgiving for the graces received. A round mosaic, located next to them, presents a speech of St. Maximilian to the co-prisoners in the

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

camp. Near, in the central part of the church there is situated a

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

ambo. Bas-reliefs of the

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, Christ teaching in the boat and the

Evangelists Evangelists may refer to: * Evangelists (Christianity), Christians who specialize in evangelism * Four Evangelists, the authors of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament * ''The Evangelists ''The Evangelists'' (''Evangheliştii'' in Roma ...

, can attract the attention of visitors in the nave. The specifications of the basilica are:
- the length from the beginning of the stairs to the end of the apse - 84,8 m.
- the length of the interior of the basilica - 69 m.
- the height of the main nave - 16 m.
- the width of the church - 18 m. (the width with both side chapels - 33 m.)
- the height of the tower clock - 47 m.

Pope John Paul II and other pilgrims

Since the time of the beatifications of Fr. Maximilian Kolbe (1971), many important guests visited Niepokalanów and the local basilica. There were bishops, cardinals and high rank politic officials among them. Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, Primate of Poland, who visited Niepokalanów several times, said once: "Before the war Niepokalanów grew far and wide. After the war the hard times came, and then the Franciscans, unable to keep up their common job, did the wisest thing they could - they built a church." On 18 June 1983, during the 2nd Pastoral Visit in Poland, Pope John Paul II visited the basilica and the monastery in Niepokalanów. In the basilica he met the representatives of religious orders to which he gave a speech. Then, during the Holy Mass at the field altar he preached a sermon to over 300,000 people. The visit of the pope increased the number of

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s coming to Niepokalanów. Many people wanted to visit the place, sacred by activity of St. Maximilian, and to pray in the local basilica.

Small photo gallery

File:Niepokalanow basilica fc18.jpg, File:Niepokalanow basilica fc07.jpg, File:Niepokalanow basilica fc03.jpg, File:Niepokalanow basilica fc04.jpg,

Source materials (books and links)

* ''Niepokalanów. Pilgrimage and tourist guide'', red. fr. Roman Soczewka OFMConv. Wydawnictwo ZET, Wrocław 2004, * o. Cezar Czesław Baran OFMConv., Franciszkańskie sanktuaria maryjne w Polsce. Wydawnictwo Pelikan, Warszawa 1990, {{ISBN, 83-85045-17-1 (book in Polish)
The monastery of Niepokalanów. Basilica
English version of the monastery's official site * ''Miasto Niepokalanej'' (''City of the Immaculate'' - article in Polish), p. 216-219, in: ''Rycerz Niepokalanej'' (''The Knight of the Immaculate'') nr 7-8/2010, Niepokalanów, ISSN 0208-8878 Basilica churches in Poland Shrines to the Virgin Mary Sochaczew County

Roman Catholic shrines in Poland