Ruch pielgrzymkowy do Limanowej

Pilgrimages to Limanowa

Summary: The history of Limanowa - nowadays a poviat town in Małopolska with fifteen thousand inhabitants - is closely related to the figure of Our Lady of Sorrows and the worship developing since the 18th century. The Pieta most probably originated in Hungary in the mid 14th century. After the figure reached the area of Limanowa, it was first placed on a lime tree, and then in a wooden chapel in Mordarka. Next to the chapel there appeared a spring which had healing powers. Since then the figure has been believed to do miracles and it has been drawing pilgrims. The worship of Our Lady intensified during World War I and II. Graces granted were recorded in the "Book of Grace" which tells us about miraculous healings and acts of saving.
On September 11, 1966, Archbishop Metropolitan of Kraków Karol Wojtyre-crowned the figure in Kraków. The crowns were, however, stolen in 1981. Donations of the parish community and people from the region allowed for purchase of new crowns. During his second pilgrimage, the Pope re-crowned the figure in Kraków.
Pilgrims come to Limanowa every day. These are both Polish and foreign pilgrims. The pilgrimages are most intensive during the fairs. Particularly popular is the fair in September. The Great Our Lady Indulgence is held between September 15 and 24. An unusual event at the time is the pilgrimage of the Gypsies, which always occurs on the first Sunday of the September fair. The Gypsies meet at the parish church at Łososina Górna, from where they go on a five-kilometer-long pilgrimage to Limanowa. After the Holy Mass during which many of them receive the sacraments of baptism, communion or confirmation or wedding, there is a Festival of Gypsy Folk Groups. Hundreds of pilgrims also come to the "Fatima Rosary" prayed from May to October on each first Saturday of the month. The service, gathering as many as seven thousand people, is composed of the Holy Mass and the procession with the figure of Our Lady of Fatima around the Limanowa Main Square and the Square at the Basilica. Pilgrimage movement to Limanowa varies in particular months of the year. The greatest pilgrimage activity is recorded from August to October.
Recently, pilgrims have also been visiting one of the tourist attractions at Miejska Góra, where, apart from picturesque views, visitors may see the 37-meter-high cross erected in 2000 on the occasion of the Jubilee of Christianity. In the future, however, Limanowa and the entire poviat expect growing interest on the part of tourists due to planned opening of the Papal Route in 2003, which leads pilgrims through places personally related to the Pope.

Peregrinus Cracoviensis, 2004, z.15, s. 177-186.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

ISSN 1425-1922

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