The Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel is a

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

cathedral in

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The history of the church dates to the 16th century, and it is a registered monument in Poland. The church is known for its artistic significance which includes works by Italian sculptor

Santi Gucci Santi Gucci (c. 1530–1600) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Biography He moved to Poland after 1550, most probably from Florence, and became the court artist of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II Augustus, his sis ...

History

The cathedral, originally a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

, was built between 1504 and 1525 by Duchess Anna. The church then saw renovations in the 17th century.Bujak, A., Bogdanowicz, S. (1997). ''Katedry polskie''. Kraków: Biały Kruk. p. 206. In 1925,

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

''Vixdum Poloniae unitas'' established the

Diocese of Łomża In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

, and the church became a cathedral. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Łomża saw massive destruction, and the cathedral underwent restoration after the war. In 1991,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

gave a speech at the cathedral in Łomża.By STEPHEN ENGELBERG Special to The New York Times. (1991, Jun 06). Pope Subtly Offers Moral Support For Lithuanians' Independence. ''New York Times (1923-).''

Architecture

The church has gone through many modifications throughout the centuries. The current

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

church features a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

, six-sided altars, and is in the gothic style. The church also features a tomb from 1589 built by Santi Gucci for members of the Modliszowski family.Hajduk, O. M. (2024). ''Santi Gucci Fiorentino, Artist and Entrepreneur in Early Modern Poland''. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. File:Lomza katedra fc11.jpg, Modliszowski tomb, 1589,

File:Łomża Katedra Dzwonnica.jpg, Bell tower File:Łomża Katedra 16.jpg, Brick-lined crystalline vault

References

{{reflist Roman Catholic cathedrals in Poland Buildings and structures in Łomża Christianity in Łomża Churches in Podlaskie Voivodeship Objects of cultural heritage in Poland Gothic church buildings in Poland Brick churches

History

Architecture

See also

References