Pielgrzymowanie do Sanktuarium Matki Bożej Królowej Podhala w Ludźmierzu

Pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady the Queen of Podhale in Ludźmierz

Summary: The Shrine of Our Lady the Queen of Podhale features a miracle-working statue of Our Lady with Child venerated for centuries. It is one of the most important centres of worship of the Virgin Mary in the Kraków archidiocese and a popular pilgrimage destination. The shrine is ranked among the most rapidly developing pilgrimage centres of supra-diocesan (supra-regional) importance. It is estimated that the shrine in Ludźmierz is recently being visited by around 300,000 people annually. This article presents an analysis of the pilgrimage movement to Ludźmierz in the years 1998-2007. It also provides data on the spatial outreach of the shrine and the distribution of the pilgrimage movement. In recent decades, the most significant event in the development of the pilgrimage movement to Ludźmierz has been the visit of the Holy Father John Paul II to the shrine on 7 June 1997. The largest number of groups in the period discussed was recorded in 2005. This should be attributed to the fact that the shrine is located on the Papal Trail and has been the destination of intense pilgrimage movement in Poland following the death of the Polish Pope. The pilgrimage movement shows marked seasonal variations; it begins at the end of April and continues to the end of October. The highest flow of pilgrims is recorded on the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary (approx. 50,000 pilgrims). Thousands of faithful come to the shrine for a prayer service to Our Lady of Fatima held on the first Saturday of the month from May to October. The spatial coverage of the sanctuary has significantly increased in this decade. In 2007 pilgrimage registers recorded groups of pilgrims from all of Poland's 41 dioceses, with the highest numbers originating from the Kraków, Bielsko and Żywiec, Katowice and Tarnów dioceses.

Peregrinus Cracoviensis, 2008, z. 19, s. 103-116.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

ISSN 1425-1922

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