Fr Hermann Duncan
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a town in Southern Poland in which there is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the whole country, and among the most interesting architectural projects in Europe. The Sanctuary in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is situated on the slopes of Żar mountain and Lanckorona mountain, 14km south of Wadowice, the birth place of Pope St John Paul II and 44km south west of Krakow. Today it falls under the archdiocese of Krakow.
This holy site comprises a baroque basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, a Franciscan (OFM) friary and a number of churches and chapels in mannerist and baroque style located over a 6 square kilometre area in the picturesque landscape of the Beskids. The whole complex is a specific copy of Jerusalem’s Via Dolorosa with its chapels, where visitors can practice considerations on the Passion of Christ and Our Lady’s Life Mysteries.
Mikolaj Zebrzydowski, was the first founder of the Kalwaria Sanctuary. He chose the Order of Friars Minor, a Franciscan order, as caretakers and guards of this sanctuary. On the 1st December 1602, a special foundation document granting Kalwaria to the Franciscans (OFM) was signed by Zebrzydowski. This