Catholic House
Catholic House
At the beginning of the 30s of the 20th century, numerous Catholic associations developed rapidly in Wadowice: Brotherhood of the Rosary, Brotherhood of Sobriety, Marian Sodality, Catholic Association of Young Men and Women, “Catholic Action” (in the years 1925-1932 Catholic League) and many others. However, a problem was the lack of buildings where they could conduct their activities.
In 1933, a concept emerged to build the Catholic House. It was accepted by the Kraków Metropolitan Curia and then a building committee was appointed, chaired by Fr. Dean Leonard Prochownik – parish-priest of the parish church in Wadowice. He allocated half the sum collected during his Christmas visits to the faithful for the construction of the House. Designs were prepared by the Kraków architect and sworn court expert, Józef Merenda, author of, inter alia, a design of the Catholic House in Myślenice and of the churches in Prokocim and Zaborów.
The building was based on a natural slope, which in the past was a part of the city fortifications. This gave a possibility of an interesting architectural solution. In the basement and on the first floor, the rooms used by the associations and a library were built. Other rooms accommodated a canteen, meal centre, lodge and boiler room. At the level of the church, there was the second entrance to the House, leading straight to the large theatre room with seats for 324 persons. Next to it, there were a changing room and dressing room. The House has been connected with the existing presbytery building. In the entire facility, the central heating system was installed.
On 1 September 1935, the House was consecrated by the Kraków Metropolitan Archbishop, Prince Adam Stefan Sapieha. The ceremony was attended by the local clergy, with the Fr. Leonard Prochownik in the foreground, the Catholic brotherhoods and associations and large numbers of the Wadowice residents.
The Catholic House has quickly become a new cultural centre. Its managers, together with the developing local artistic community, used its stage capabilities. As from 1936, performances were staged there under the direction of a grammar school teacher, Fr. Mitred Prelate Dr Edward Zacher. At that time, Karol Wojtyła made his debut as a co-director of the performance entitled “Non-Divine Comedy” in which he played one of the leading roles – Count Henry.
In 1937, under the direction of the Wadowice vicar and religious professional, Fr. Władysław Świżek, the young people repeatedly staged the Passion Play, which had wide repercussions in the city. At that time, there were several theatre ensembles in Wadowice and their tutors cooperated with each other. When organising the performance of the Revelation, in which Karol Wojtyła played the role of St. John the Apostle, Fr. Zacher borrowed several props from Fr. Bogusław Woźnicki. He sent Lolek to bring a wonderful chair rarely used by the celebrant in the monastery church. Unluckily, when Karol was carrying the chair on his head, he was noticed by the then prior of the Barefoot Carmelites, Fr. Gabriel Klimowski. The prior, thinking that he was witnessing a theft of a valuable item, started chasing the alleged thief, screaming: “You bad boy, where did you get if from!…”. Fortunately, the unpleasant situation was clarified and the performance was staged successfully.
In the Interwar period, a football team made up of the former players of “Sokół” and “Strzelec” functioned at the Catholic Association of Young Men.
Up to this day, the Catholic House has been used by Catholic organisations, and in the years 2009-2013, for the time of renovation of the John Paul II’s family home, it accommodated the exhibition – “The treasure of my life”, with a replica of Karol Wojtyła’s flat.
Date of introduction: March 22, 2016