World Youth Day USA Guides International Pilgrimage Leaders Guide | Page 35

Wojtyła celebrated his first Mass in Saint

Saint Maxilimilan Kolbe also lived for a short

Leonard’s Crypt in 1946, was consecrated as a

time), and, as Archbishop of Krakow, first

bishop in 1958, and served as Archbishop of

learned of the life of Pier Giorgio Frassati at the

Krakow from 1964 to 1978.

Dominican Church and, there, declared him
“the man of the beatitudes.” He would later

In the center of town, in Kraków’s Main

beatify Frassati in 1990 and name him a patron

Market Square, can be found the towering

for young adults and World Youth Day.

Kościół Mariacki, the Church of the
Assumption of the Virgin Mary, with its grand

South of Old Town, in the Łagiewniki district,

asymmetrical bell towers flanking the entrance

of Kraków, pilgrims will find the Sanctuary of

and interior blue ceiling lifting one’s thoughts

Divine Mercy, a large modern basilica built

upward to Heaven and forward to the high

between 1999 and 2002 on the grounds of the

altar. In this sacred place and around the

convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy

square, one can imagine the kings, queens, and

where Sr. Faustina Kowalska, OLM, is also

princes of Poland through the ages – including

buried. Here visitors can learn of the rich

the benevolent King Casimir III the Great,

tradition of pilgrimage in Poland – beginning

Saint Jadwiga (Hedwig) the Queen, and Saint

with the devotion to Our Lady of Czestochowa

Casimir the Crown Price, whose royal mercy

in the Middle Ages and continuing to this day

and compassion earned them the devotion of

in the Łagiewniki area. Also nearby is a new

the Polish people.

pilgrimage site, the new Sanctuary of Saint John
Paul II and the accompanying “Be Not Afraid”

Between the Main Market Square and Wawel

Center, completed in 2015 to commemorate

Hill can be found Franciszkańska Street, a

the life and legacy of Kraków’s native son.

sacred avenue where the fifteenth-century
Archbishop’s Palace, the neo-Gothic Basilica of

These are just a few of the sites around Kraków

St. Francis of Assisi, and the Dominican

that speak of its rich history and holiness.

Church of the Holy Trinity can all be found.

Explaining to pilgrims the greater context for

These three places, so near to each other, offer

these sacred places (and many others they will

a glimpse into the life and ministry of Karol

visit in Poland) can enrich their travels within

Wojtyła. He studied for the priesthood in secret

the city of Kraków. In addition, the Jewish

during World War II at the Palace, escaped for

history of this part of Poland is significant and

quiet prayer in the Franciscan Basilica (where

would be important to share with the pilgrims
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