Saint Giles’ Church near Wawel Castle

 Wersja polska

Heritage

The friars have taken pastoral care of this little church by the Wawel Hill since 1595. St. Giles church in Krakow was built in 1085 by prince Wladyslaw Herman in thanksgiving for the birth of his son Boleslaw Wrymouth. The current Gothic structure, one of the first brick buildings in town, dates from the early 1300’s. It underwent a thorough renovation in the years 1982-86.

Monuments

The altarpiece painting of St. Giles by an unknown author (early 1600’s). It used to be considered miraculous by the faithful who would donate vota (items commemorating miraculous healing through the saint’s intercession) until the beginning of the 20th century.
Choir stalls, originally from St. Hyacinth’s tomb chapel at Holy Trinity Basilica, moved to St. Giles in 1629. The Renaissance stalls are made of different kinds of marble, limestone, sandstone, and alabaster.
The late Renaissance high altar from the beginning of the 17th century, with the statues of saints. Two side altars and the wall mounted ambo date from the same period.
The crucifix is dated to 1520 and seats along with the statues of Our Lady and St. John (ca. 1470) on the Baroque three-leaf beam.
The image of the Madonna with the Child (on wood, 1500’s) and other smaller items dating from medieval to contemporary.

Services

Masses:

Sundays and Solemnities 9am & 12pm (in Polish)
10:30am (in English)

IMPORTANT! Beginning October 1, 2023, the 10:30 AM Sunday Mass in English will be offered at a new location. Due to general renovation works St. Giles Church will be closed for up to two years. During this time we invite English speakers living in or visiting Kraków to Our Lady of the Snows, ul. Mikołajska 21. The church known in Polish as “Na Gródku” is also a site of a cloistered monastic community of Dominican nuns who generously agreed to host our international community. The Mass time remains unchanged.

On weekdays we hold no regular Masses at St. Giles.
The church and the sacristy are open:
Sundays and Solemnities 9am – 1pm
Tuesday through Friday 10am – 1pm and 3pm – 5pm
Saturdays 10am – 1pm

Confessions in English as well as in other languages (German, French, Spanish) are available at Holy Trinity Basilica / Bazylika Trójcy Świętej, ul. Stolarska 12, Monday through Saturday 8AM till 7PM and Sundays during each Mass. Check out our weekly schedule HERE. Flags next to the priest-on-duty’s name indicate foreign languages he speaks.

RCIA program (a year-long preparation for adults who would like to be baptized, confirmed, or received into the full communion with the Catholic Church) – this year (2021/2022) we do not run the group in English. We recommend that you prepare to receive the sacraments at the Catechumenal Center at the Church of St. Marek in Krakow.

Children’s Baptism and Holy Matrimony require individual preparation. For further inquiry please contact the chaplain. ([email protected])

The feast of our patron saint St. Giles is celebrated on the first Sunday of September.

Contact

Chaplain: Fr. Lukasz Misko, O.P. ([email protected])

Sacristan: Laurenty Józef Kupiec