Pacanów ParishMinor Basilica · Sanctuary

Sanctuary of the Dying Lord Jesus

St Martin's Basilica in Pacanów is the Sanctuary of the Dying Lord Jesus1. Its heart is a medieval crucifix in the chapel by the south wall of the church. Pilgrims have come to it since 16152.

The miraculous crucifix

The crucifix shows Christ at the moment of death: his head turned towards heaven, with the wounds of his hands, feet and side. The left foot rests on the right and is fixed with a single nail. Instead of a crown of thorns, a radiant halo surrounds the head34. The figure is carved in limewood and the cross is made of pine3. The sculpture is medieval – sources date it to the 12th–13th century5. The sculptor and workshop are unknown.

The crucifix is solemnly unveiled. It is covered by a painting of St Mary Magdalene kneeling beneath the cross, painted in 1895 by the local artist Franciszek Nawalny2. Votive offerings hang around the figure in the altar – silver hearts, hands and other gifts of gratitude from pilgrims.

The figure was restored in the 1960s by the conservator Norbert Szunke of Kielce, and again in 2004, when the altar and the chapel interior were also gilded. Since 2005 the figure has been unveiled and veiled by a mechanism2.

The chapel of the Lord Jesus

The Baroque altar of the chapel of the Dying Lord Jesus with the crucifix and figures of saints
The altar of the chapel of the Dying Lord Jesus. Photo: parish archive

The late-Renaissance chapel was added to the south wall of the church in 1633 through the efforts of Fr Sebastian Żegalicz, parish priest of nearby Książnice. The crucifix was moved into it from the altar of the Holy Cross in the nave62. The chapel survived the fires of the church in 1906 and 19446. Behind the altar there is a passage that pilgrims go through on their knees7.

The church is a listed historic monument (register nos. 781 of 1958 and 147 of 1967)8. More about the history of the church: History of the church.

History of the devotion

  • Early 12th century (1109–1118) – at the request of the knight Siemian, Bishop Maur of Kraków consecrates the church of St Martin and establishes the parish. The document survives in a renewal by Bishop Iwo Odrowąż of 1219 and is among the oldest foundation charters of village churches in Poland96.
  • Before 1549 – a wooden chapel of the Holy Cross stands on the outskirts of the town, next to a house for the poor; the crucifix is venerated there10.
  • 1615 – after the hospice chapel burns down, the figure is moved to the parish church. Friday devotions to the Lord Jesus have been held ever since2.
  • 1633 – the chapel of the Lord Jesus is built next to the church6.
  • 1657 – during the Swedish Deluge the troops of George II Rákóczi burn the town and the church; the crucifix survives6.
  • 1866 – a lithograph of the Miraculous Cross is made in Warsaw; by 1890 thousands of holy cards for pilgrims are printed from it2.
  • 1872 – a book of graces received through the Dying Lord Jesus is started11.
  • 20 September 1906 – fire in the church; the chapel with the crucifix is saved by Piotr Rotter, who climbed in through a window and put out the fire24.
  • 17 August 1944 – the church burns during the fighting; the chapel with the crucifix survives once again62.
  • 1982 – Bishop Mieczysław Jaworski introduces the Stations of the Cross every Friday2.
  • 14 September 1985 – the pilgrimage of the Holy Cross through the Diocese of Kielce begins in Pacanów; it ends here on 14 September 19872.
  • 2008 – Pope Benedict XVI grants the church the title of minor basilica1213. It is solemnly proclaimed on 14 September 2009, the 900th anniversary of the consecration of the church. The act is read by Bishop Marian Florczyk, and the Mass is celebrated by the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Józef Glemp1310.
  • 2025 – the sanctuary is a jubilee church of the Holy Year14.

Traditions and legend

The stories below are traditions – handed down by generations of the faithful and by the parish chronicle, but not facts confirmed by documents.

  • The legend of three crucifixes. According to tradition, three figures of the crucified Christ floated down the Vistula: one stopped at Mogiła near Kraków, the second at Pacanów and the third reached Warsaw36.
  • The chapel saved in 1944. According to parishioners, a shell that hit the chapel did not destroy it. Another shell was set into the church tower as a memento2.
  • The soldiers of 1945. According to tradition, two Red Army soldiers who tried to take down the cross were blinded by a light and fled4.
  • Kings at the foot of the cross. Tradition names among those who prayed before the crucifix St Kinga, Queen Jadwiga, King Władysław Jagiełło, King Stefan Batory and King Jan III Sobieski4.

Parish priests and custodians

The list is incomplete – we are completing it from the parish archive. The years given are those in which the priest is recorded in the sources2.

  • Fr Maciej Ślimawa – parish priest, doctor of medicine (recorded in 1502)
  • Fr Bucki – founded the Archconfraternity of St Anne (1612)
  • Fr Rudzki – parish priest (recorded c. 1650)
  • Fr Jacek Mokrski – rebuilt the church after the Deluge (after 1657)
  • Fr Michał Sołtyk – enlarged the church (1785–1790)6
  • Fr Benedykt Nowakowski – parish priest (recorded in 1862)
  • Fr Wawrzyniec Nowakowski – almshouse for the poor (1870), presbytery (1874), renovation of the church (1880–1890)
  • Fr Badowski – rebuilt the church after the fire of 1906
  • Fr Adam Adamek – completed the rebuilding (1935) and rebuilt the church again after 1944
  • Fr Feliks Skrobisz, PhD – led the rebuilding from 1956, parish priest until 1982
  • Mgr Lucjan Sito – parish priest and custodian of the sanctuary (1982–2010)
  • Mgr Leszek Domagała – parish priest and custodian of the sanctuary (2010–2026)
  • Fr Stanisław Picheta – parish priest and custodian of the sanctuary since 20266

Priests serving in the parish today: Clergy.

Feasts (indulgence days)

  • Good Friday
  • St Anne – 26 July
  • Exaltation of the Holy Cross – 14 September – the main feast in honour of the Dying Lord Jesus, combined with the harvest festival
  • St Martin – 11 November
The feast procession in front of the basilica on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Photo: parish archive

The programme of the feast celebrations is published in the parish announcements (in Polish).

For pilgrims

See also: Contact and directions

Notes

  1. Diocese of Kielce, list of sanctuaries and basilicas of the diocese (in Polish). ↩

  2. Parish chronicle based on: B. M. Tarka, Sanktuarium Pana Jezusa Konającego w Pacanowie, Pacanów 2000 – former sanctuary website (sanktuariumpacanowskie.com, “Historia Sanktuarium”), in Polish. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  3. “Pan Jezus Konający – Pacanów”, in: Niezwykłe krucyfiksy w Polsce, swzygmunt.knc.pl (in Polish). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. “Sanktuarium Pana Jezusa Konającego”, pch24.pl, 13 September 2012 (in Polish). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. Reports from 2009 (KAI, “Niedziela”) give the 13th century, later publications (pch24.pl, “Nasz Dziennik”) the 12th century. The dating will be made more precise on the basis of the conservation records. ↩

  6. Diocese of Kielce, “Pacanów, św. Marcina b. w.” (in Polish). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  7. Diocese of Kielce, “Pacanów: tłumy wiernych na liturgii wielkopiątkowej w sanktuarium Jezusa Konającego” (in Polish). ↩

  8. National Heritage Board of Poland, register of immovable monuments of the Świętokrzyskie Province (in Polish). ↩

  9. W. Semkowicz, Przyczynki dyplomatyczne z wieków średnich, Lwów 1912 (new edition ed. A. Lis, Łódź 2025); J. Banasik, “Akt erekcji kościoła w Pacanowie, woj. kieleckie”, Przegląd Religioznawczy, 1997. ↩

  10. K. Dobrowolska, “Pacanowska bazylika”, “Niedziela” (Kielce edition) 36/2009 (in Polish). ↩ ↩2

  11. W. Burzawa, “Sanktuarium Pana Jezusa Konającego w Pacanowie”, “Niedziela” (Kielce edition) 10/2003 (in Polish). ↩

  12. Decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments proclaiming the church of St Martin in Pacanów a minor basilica, “Anamnesis” no. 62 (2010), p. 30. ↩

  13. KAI, “Pacanów: Sanktuarium Jezusa Konającego bazyliką mniejszą”, 14 September 2009 (in Polish). ↩ ↩2

  14. GCatholic – St Martin's Basilica, Pacanów: jubilee churches of the Holy Year 2025. ↩