Geneza i funkcjonowanie sanktuariów Bożego Miłosierdzia w Polsce

The origins and functioning of the shrines of Divine Mercy in Poland

Summary: The shrines of Divine Mercy play a significant role in the development of the worship of God's Mercy. Their main mission is to preach God's Mercy and to pray for its mediation for the parish community, the diocese and the entire world, and to spread spirituality following the message of St. Faustyna Kowalska. The first sanctuaries of Divine Mercy were founded in the 1990s in Częstochowa, Krakówie-Łagiewniki, Szczecin, Myślibórz, Sokołów Podlaski, Kalisz, Ożarów Mazowiecki and Łomża. Following the canonisation of Blessed Sister Faustyna Kowalska (on 30 April 2000) successive sanctuaries dedicated to Divine Mercy were established in Płock, Białystok, Poznań, Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz, Łódź, Kielce, Sosnowiec, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Toruń, Biała Podlaska and Ełk. In total, nineteen shrines of Divine Mercy were created in Poland in the years 1992-2005. The most important among the shrines of Divine Mercy in Poland is the one in Kraków-Łagiewniki. It is ranked among the most actively developing pilgrimage centres not only in Poland but on the global scale. During his last visit to Poland and the Łagiewniki Shrine on 17 August 2002, Lord's Servant Pope John Paul II declared it the world centre of worship of Divine Mercy and carried out the solemn act of putting the world in the hands of the Divine Mercy. Recently the shrine has been visited annually by two million pilgrims from 90 countries. An important role in the spreading of the worship of Divine Mercy in Poland is played by the shrine in the Valley of Mercy in Częstochowa. Currently it holds a supra-diocesan status and every year is visited by ca. 50,000 individual pilgrims and organised groups from Poland and abroad. Important centres of the worship of Divine Mercy are the shrines in north-eastern Poland - in Łomża and Białystok, while in western Poland, the shrine in Myślibórz. In Mazovia, the pilgrims most often visit the shrine in Płock (the site of the first revelation of Or Lord Jesus the Merciful to Faustyna Kowalska on 22 February 1931) and in Ożarów Mazowiecki. Other shrines discussed in the study are of local significance.

Peregrinus Cracoviensis, 2008, z. 19, s. 47-72.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

ISSN 1425-1922

Pełny tekst (1.6 MB)