Homeplace of Pope John Paul II

Baptismal Font of Pope John Paul II

Parish Church of Pope John Paul II

Homeplace of Pope John Paul II

Wadowice, a town of about 20,000 located some 30 miles southwest of Krakow, has gained international recognition as the birthplace of Pope John Paul II. Born in 1920 as Karol Wojtyla, the future Pontiff lived in Wadowice until 1938 when he moved to Krakow to study at its ancient Jagiellonian Univesity. 

The church’s Gothic chancel dates from the 15th century while the late-Baroque nave and aisles were built in the 1790s. The left aisle contains a baptismal font where the baby Karol Wojtyla was baptized Right next door to the church is the boyhood home of the pope. He and his family lived in the upstairs apartment of this home. Their landlords, who lived on the first floor, were Jewish. The building is entered through a small courtyard with outdoor staircase leading to the second floor. Once inside it is required to wear slippers to protect the hardwood floors. On display are photos of John Paul and his family and vestments belonging to him. It is a simple yet charming place, now a museum and exhibits comprise the Wojtyla family’s former possessions such as an oven, a shelf, a table, tableware, a laundry basket, family pictures as well as personal belongings of Father Karol Wojtyla–skis, a rucksack, a cap, a prayer book, etc. Plus photos from his three visits to Wadowice as the Pope. 

The apartment building is situated in the town centre, near the baroque church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the central square. It was in this little church that the future Pope John Paul II was baptized and later confirmed, where he served as an altar boy and prayed daily before its miraculous picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The church has one wide nave and two aisles on both sides with numerous side altars.