Family Home of Pope John Paul II Museum in Wadowice

You can get your medals in the lobby by the shop!

In 1919, on the first floor of the house at 7 Kościelna Street, the future parents of Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla and his wife Emilia, née Kaczorowska, and their thirteen-year-old son Edmund, moved in, occupying two rooms with the kitchen. On 18 May 1920, their second son, Karol Józef, the Holy Father John Paul II, was born there. After the death of his mother on 13 April 1929, Karol and his father lived in a room with the kitchen , while room 1 remained almost unused.

At the beginning of the summer of 1938, Karol Wojtyla left Wadowice with his father to study Polish Studies in Krakow. Most of the furniture was taken away. Many changes were later made to the Wojtyla family’s former flat.

The exhibition in the Family Home of Pope John Paul II is intended to illustrate and commemorate his life and activities in Poland until he left it permanently, having been elected Bishop of Rome.

In the room where Karol Wojtyła was born and lived until 1938, and in the adjoining kitchen, what has been preserved from the former furnishings that were taken to Cracow after he left Wadowice, are exhibited. In the showcases on the right-hand side of the room, there are documents (originals or copies), objects that were the personal property of Karol Wojtyła, as well as his manuscripts and works published before 16 October 1978. On the walls, there are photographs of Karol Wojtyła and places he often visited. On the ribbon running along the left side are photographs from many moments in his life, from his childhood through his school and student years, his acceptance of the priestly and episcopal ministry, and finally the dignity of cardinal, to his departure for the conclave in Rome. Books about John Paul II published in various countries around the world were displayed in the room.

In 1998, two rooms were added to the permanent exhibition. On the left side of the room is a composition of photographs showing Pope John Paul II and his homeland in a symbolic way. On the board to the right are photographs from his first and second visits to his hometown. In room 8, photographs from his last visit to Wadowice are displayed. Also hanging in rooms 7 and 8 are pictures from the 20th anniversary of the Holy Father’s pontificate.