It took twenty years to construction the church in Nowa Huta. Exactly as long as the ministry of Bishop Karol Wojtyła lasted in Kraków: from consecration to the election of the Pope. These two stories, which are constantly intertwined, also shed some light on each other. The history of Nowa Huta reflects the way in which Karol Wojtyła served as a bishop – the pastor of the local Church, a guide and defender of his people, and at the same time the way in which he handled power, using pressure and atheist ideology. Nowa Huta’s experience has forever marked the pastoral style of Archbishop Wojtyla. Similarly, it left a mark on the personality of the future Pope tirelessly fighting for human rights, freedom of conscience and religion. It is possible to say that the struggle that as the Pope he will fight in defense of man and the dignity of the human person began precisely in Nowa Huta. This first attempt which was undertaken by the young bishop was its seed. At the end of the 1950s Kraków had a population of 600,000 and continued to develop through the formation of new settlements on the periphery. The districts grew like mushrooms after the rain, and almost all were deprived of churches as the communist authorities did not give permits for their construction. In Nowa Huta a gigantic metallurgical complex was created: a socialist-atheist alternative to Catholic Krakow. A city without God was to be built, in which from the very beginning the zoning plan did not provide for the construction of a church. However, people coming from the surrounding villages, especially from Tarnów’s area deeply believed and longed for the presence of God. They wanted to live near a church, lead a traditional religious life. The curia’s request for permission to build the church was made not due to the desire to fight, but was an expression of the desire of believers to have a place where God would be present and where the Holy Mass would be celebrated. Today it can be said that this was the first confrontation between believers and communists in a socialist city
With the consent of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “Testimony”.
TBA marketing communication Publishing House. Warsaw 2007
