Monastery of the Franciscan Fathers in Radziejów Monastery of the Franciscan Fathers in Radziejów
Address:

ul. Franciszkańska 4
88-200 Radziejów
tel. 54 285 54 19

franciszkanie-radziejow.pl

Monastery of the Franciscan Fathers in Radziejów

Medals available for purchase at the Monastery and in the sacristy after Holy Masses!

History

One of the most historically interesting and also one of the oldest towns in the Kuyavia region is Radziejów. The history of this town, apart from its political importance (as the site of assemblies for the Brześć-Kuyavian and Inowrocław Voivodeships), is above all the history of the Franciscan monastery. The initiator of the monastery’s foundation was Władysław the Elbow-high (Łokietek), Duke of Brześć-Kuyavia.

Władysław Łokietek, remembering the kindness of the Kraków Franciscans who hid and saved him during his struggle for the Lesser Poland throne, decided to repay the order with a new foundation. His attention turned to Radziejów, located within his duchy. The ducal foundation was confirmed at the provincial chapter in Opole on September 14, 1298.

However, wars fought by Łokietek delayed the fulfillment of the foundation’s provisions in Radziejów by more than thirty years. Only at the end of his life, after the Battle of Płowce on September 27, 1331, did he, in gratitude to God for the victory, build in Radziejów the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross, along with a monastery, and brought the Conventual Franciscan Friars there from Kraków.
Devotion

The image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, known for numerous graces, has been venerated in the Radziejów church since 1898. The painting is the work of Feliks Cichocki, an artist known for many religious-themed depictions. After the painting was placed in a side altar, the then rector of the church, Father Bonifacy Żórawski, traveled to Rome to obtain an indulgence from Pope Leo XIII. He received it on March 14, 1898, with the stipulation that it be celebrated on the first Sunday after the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Since the painting’s arrival, the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help has been held in great reverence by the faithful. Numerous testimonies, both oral and written, describe many extraordinary graces attributed to Mary’s intercession, granted through prayer before her miraculous image.

On September 14, 2014, His Excellency Bishop Wiesław Mering elevated the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Radziejów to the rank of Sanctuary of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.