Location: ul. Swietojanska 10
Tel. 022 831 1675
Bus: E- 1, E- 3, 116, 122, 175, 195, 495, 503
Jesuit Church or Church of Merciful Mother of God is an impressive Baroque light blue building constructed by the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic Church. It was built in 1609- 29 and served a near by monastery as well as other residents of Warsaw. Jesuit Church survived for over three centuries. In 1944 during the Warsaw uprising of Polish resistance against German occupation Jesuit Church was badly damaged and virtually destroyed. After completion of World War II residents of Warsaw rebuilt the building using old plans, drawings and pictures as their guide.
The church was built in the years 1609-1626 according
to the design of an unknown architect, who proved with his artistry an
extraordinary professionalism and competence. Probably the author of
this masterful project was Jan Frankiewicz - the builder and creator of
the church of St. Kazimierz in Vilnius.
The initiator of the
construction of the church was Fr. Piotr Skarga. The preacher used the
money collected from the alms to buy a house in 1597 for the Jesuit
order. The tenement house in which the Jesuits were initially staying
was called the "monastery". In the following years, the monks bought
more neighboring tenement houses and prepared the foundations for the
construction of the church. They were also given a construction site
from King Zygmunt.
The Jesuit Order came to Warsaw in 1607, then
the seat of King Sigismund III Vasa. The Jesuit Congregation wanted to
establish its seat near the castle. The place where the seat of the
order was to be built was chosen not by accident, as the planned seat of
the Jesuits, bordering the cathedral and nearby the castle, would
emphasize their importance in the contemporary society.
The
founders of this temple were, among others King Zygmunt III Waza,
Andrzej Bobola (chamberlains), Gostomski brothers.
In 1656, the
temple was destroyed and plundered by the Swedish army. In 1660, the
order established a pharmacy next to the church. The entrance was from
the Old Town Square. It also served the residents of Warsaw and was the
oldest pharmacy in Warsaw after the castle's pharmacy. In 1668 they
founded a school with lectures in, among others, theology and philosophy
at the academic level.
In 1720, the construction of a two-story
building at the back of the church began, initiated by the Bishop of
Płock, Ludwik Bartłomiej Załuski. Thanks to this building, Jezuicka
Street was created. The school was moved to the newly created building,
and it had an unofficial name derived from the name of Bishop Załuski -
Gymnasium Zaluscianum. A pharmacy and a rich collection of books were
also moved to the building.
In 1773, after the dissolution of the
order, the temple became a school church subordinate to the National
Education Commission. For a short time the church also belonged to the
German Brotherhood of Saint Bruno. It was also the seat of the Pauline
Fathers for a short time. In 1818 the church survived a crisis and was
treated as a cathedral warehouse, and in 1828 wool was stored there. The
temple returned to its original function only in 1834 thanks to the
Piarist order. Removed by the invader from their previous seat, the
monks transferred all their belongings, including monuments, to the
church on Świętojańska Street. The monks brought a bear sculpture to
their new home, which can still be admired at the entrance to the
temple. In 1864, when the Piarist Order was liquidated, the church began
to play auxiliary functions in relation to the neighboring cathedral.
The church only returned to the Jesuits in 1918, but in 1944 the temple
was almost completely destroyed as a result of being set on fire and
blown up. The Church of Our Lady of Graces remained under the care of
the Jesuit Order.
The church was probably designed by Jan Frankiewicz.
It is a building combining elements of Italian architecture with
elements of Northern European architecture. In the construction of the
church, you can also see elements characteristic of Poland, incl. Lublin
vault. The architect also showed the ability to use the narrow space for
the construction of the temple. The church is a Mannerist-Baroque
one-nave structure. The building is topped with a decorative gable and a
dome above the apse. In the aisle there is a chapel of perpetual
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (adoration chapel).
At the
rear, a 65-meter tower was added asymmetrically to the building.
Equipment elements
Papal table
There is a stone plaque in the
church on the right side of the entrance. It is a reminder of the visit
of this temple by the Holy Father John Paul II. These visits took place
on June 2, 1979 and June 16, 1983.
Angelic door
The entrance
door was made in 2009 by the sculptor Igor Mitoraj, who in his work
refers to ancient sculpture, and solemnly dedicated on September 12,
2009. Before that, Mitoraj made a similar door for the Church of Santa
Maria degli Angeli in Rome). These gates were funded on the occasion of
the 400th anniversary of the temple. They are made of bronze and
represent a relief scene of the Annunciation. There is Mary in the upper
part of the door, and two angels on the opening wings. According to some
journalists, the female image is inspired by the ancient sculpture of
Venus de Milo, according to Christian tradition, there is one angel in
the Annunciation scene - the Archangel Gabriel, as a work of art seems
to be contrary to article 124 of Sacrosanctum concilium. The artist
himself said about his work: Some may be shocked by a completely
different image than the traditional image of Madonna, who looks down on
two angels captured in motion.
Image of the Most Holy Mother of
God of Graces
The painting is located in the apse of the nave.
Originally it was located in a side chapel. It shows the image of the
Blessed Virgin Mary Gracious. Our Lady holds broken arrows in both
hands, a symbol of protection against misfortunes. This oval painting is
a copy of the Renaissance polychrome found in Faenza, Italy. It was
painted by an unknown artist from Warsaw, commissioned by the rector of
the first Piarist convent in Poland, Fr. Hiacynta Orselli, intended for
the altar of the Piarist Church at ul. Długa (today's field cathedral).
On March 24, 1651, in the presence of the papal nuncio, Archbishop Jan
de Torres, he was solemnly introduced to the temple and shown to the
people of Warsaw. The nuncio read Pope Innocent X's bull establishing
the Mater Gratiarum Varsaviensis feast on the second Sunday of May.
After the Piarist Church was renamed the Orthodox Church in 1834,
the painting was transferred to the Jesuit Church. In 1970, the Vatican
solemnly approved Our Lady of Grace as the Patroness of Warsaw. On
October 7, 1973, the iconic image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was crowned
with papal crowns on the initiative of Fr. Card. Primate Stefan
Wyszyński. In the years 2004-2007, the painting, damaged by an
incompetent restoration in 1961, underwent a professional, long-lasting
and thorough restoration.
Crucifix
The historic crucifix is
from Lübeck in the 17th century. It was made of wood. It depicts
Christ dying on the cross. This cross was sent in 1645 to Jan Bolfelt -
the royal secretary living in Gdańsk, by the merchant Richard von der
Hardt with a request to place it in the Polish church. Bolfelt decided
to offer it to the Jesuit Order. This crucifix was solemnly placed in
the nave on the transverse axis, on the left side of the main altar on
the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14, 1648. During
World War II, the cross left the temple and was hidden. The crucifix did
not return to the chancel until 1957. Then, after the Jesuits built the
Church of St. Stephen in Mokotów, it was handed over to the main altar,
and a copy was hung in the sanctuary.
Sculpture of Our Lady of
Graces
The sculpture of Our Lady of Grace, made of lime wood, comes
from the 17th century. Our Lady has a golden crown decorated with black
precious stones. The combination of golden robes with a blue cloak
symbolizes power and benevolence. Our Lady holds broken arrows in both
hands. They symbolize the mercy and mercy shown to man by holding back
God's wrath.
Jan Tarła's portal kenotaph
Portal tombstone of
voivode Jan Tarła after consolidation and conservation in 2010
The
tombstone monument of voivode Jan Tarła (1684-1750), one of the main
founders of the Collegium Nobilium and benefactor of the Piarists,
originally placed in the church of oo. Piarist, in fact buried in the
church of oo. Pijarów in Opole Lubelskie, is located on the left side in
the aisle. The tombstone was created in the studio of Jan Jerzy Plersch
in 1752–1753 for the church of Fr. Piarists. Disassembled, moved and
then reassembled by Faustina Cengler in the church of oo. Jesuits.
Destroyed in 1944, integrated and reconstructed in 2010.
Carving of a bear
The sculpture of a bear, a remnant of a pair of
a bear and a lion that existed until 1944, was made in the workshop of
Jan Jerzy Plersch in the middle of the 18th century for the church of
Fr. Piarist Church st. Prym and St. Felician, as an attribute of the
patrons of the church, martyrs from the beginning of Christianity, torn
apart by wild animals in the arena during the Roman Empire. The image of
St. The primacy is associated with the lion, and St. Felicjana - with a
bear. In 1834, after Iwan Paskiewicz handed over the church of st. Prym
and Felicjan to the Orthodox Church, many pieces of equipment were
transferred to the post-Jesuit church (after the dissolution of the
Jesuits in 1773), given to the Piarists expelled from their own church.
Until 1944, sculptures of a pair of a bear and a lion (paws with claws
of both animals depicted: the lion and the bear were identical, the only
difference between the lion and the bear was the mane) along with the
non-existent lion sculpture was in the church porch. During the Warsaw
Uprising, a sculpture of a lion accompanying St. Prymowi was completely
destroyed, survived, though heavily damaged, the bear, which after the
restaurant was placed on the stairs by the stairs in front of the
entrance to the church.
There is a legend related to the statue
in Warsaw, which says that the stone bear is Prince Mieszko in love. The
young man turned into a statue out of regret that the love he had for
his chosen one was not reciprocated, and she married another man.
According to legend, the prince enchanted in the form of a statue is
still waiting for a girl who will bring him back to life with love and
give him the happiness he wanted.
Interior
Gothic dungeons
During the post-war construction and reconstruction works, extensive
gothic vaults were discovered, which are a testimony to the art of
building in the Middle Ages. The small area intended for the
construction of the temple forced the builders to find every corner. The
effect of such limitations was the construction of multi-level cellars.
As the church stood on the rubble of tenement houses, the remains of the
walls were pulled down only to the ground level, and the deeper basement
levels were covered with unnecessary rubble, leaving only one basement
level closest to the surface, which was to be used for burial crypts.
During the partitions, the Russian government ordered the existing
cellars to be bricked up in order to prevent the stockpiling of weapons
for the insurgents. Thanks to the constant reshuffle of church
administrators, the old, historic cellars were forgotten.
The
underground was rediscovered thanks to the reconstruction of the
building after World War II. During the reconstruction works, the upper
parts of the cellars were excavated and restoration was carried out,
while the lower parts are waiting for the continuation of the works,
which have not been excavated. The preserved crypts house the surviving
epitaphs or their fragments excavated during excavations from the ruins
of the church, as well as memorabilia from the Warsaw Uprising and busts
of Piotr Skarga and Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski - remains of epitaphs
existing in the church until 1944.
Vilnius Chapel
The chapel
is situated in one of the Gothic cellars of the temple. It was dedicated
to the memory of teachers and students of a Jesuit school run by the
Jesuits in Vilnius. The initiators of the creation of this chapel were
people associated with the institution in Vilnius, incl. pupils.
Equipment not preserved or destroyed in 1944
non-existent epitaph and
bust of Fr. Onufry Kopczyński SchP (1735–1817), the author of the first
grammar of the Polish language, buried in the basement of the church of
St. Pryma and Felicjana at ul. Długa, transferred by oo. Piarists in
1834 after Ivan Paskiewicz handed over the church of St. Prym and
Felicjana to the Orthodox Church. Epitaph and bust destroyed in 1944.
In one of the rooms, a chapel dedicated to the veneration and memory
of the teachers and students of the Jesuit school run by the Jesuits in
Vilnius was placed and opened in 1979. This chapel was built on the
initiative of former students of this gymnasium.
Buried in church
crypts
Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski SJ (1595-1640) - an outstanding
baroque poet. In 1834, it was moved by oo. of the Piarists to the church
of Fr. Piarist Church dedicated to Our Lady of Victory and Saints Prym
and Felicjan. After the Russian governor Ivan Paskiewicz handed over the
church to oo. Piarist Church of St. Trinity, moved by the invaders to an
unmarked grave under an alley in the Powązki cemetery.
See more in
the article Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, in the section Three funerals
by Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski.
Charles Ferdinand Waza (1613-1655)
Eustachy Potocki and his wife Marianna