Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Dębniki

Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Dębniki is a rectorial church of the Salesians, on ulica Tyniecka. It took ten years to build and is one of Kraków's modernist sacred buildings.

Construction

In 1918 the Salesians bought a plot in Dębniki from Count Zdzisław Tarnowski of Dzików. They built a monastery on it, established in 1930, and later the Salesian Higher Theological Seminary was created. Construction of the church began in 1936 and was completed in 1946, and the design was prepared by the engineer Marian Gąsowski. It was consecrated in 1947 by Cardinal Adam Sapieha.

Architecture and interior

The building has a single nave, on a rectangular plan with a semicircular chancel. The facade has no towers, but it has a portico and high steps. Above the high altar stands a figure of the Virgin Mary with the Child, the work of Mieczysław Stobierski, who also made the bas-reliefs of the Stations of the Cross. Under the church is a hall for performances.

Nearby

About a kilometre and a half from here stands the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology, and a little further Wawel Hill.

Practical information

• Address: ulica Tyniecka 39, Kraków-Dębniki.
• Check Mass times and the possibility of entering outside services with the Salesians.