Family Home of John Paul II

The museum housed in the family flat of the Holy Father, situated on the 7 Kościelna Street has been opened in May 1984. The service is provided by Sisters of Nazareth in commemoration of the fact that they ran the nursery school which Karol Wojtyła attended.

The museum is made up of an old two-room flat of the Wojtyłas', and it consists of a bedroom, living room and a kitchen. In order to fit all the exhibits inside, the space of the museum has been enlarged by adding first floor rooms which had been adjacent to the Wojtyłas' flat.

When comes to the furnishings from the time when the Wojtyła family lived in the flat, in the kitchen there is an original tiled stove, some crockery, a shelf, a table and a laundry basket. Also the family portraits have returned to their original place. The exposition consists of items connected with the years Wojtyła spent in this tenement (mostly the photographs of Karol Wojtyła and his family, copies of school reports and certificates), as well as many documents from the university studies and then the priestly life in Cracow and Vatican. These include various documents signed by Wojtyła, his four cassocks from different stages of his priesthood: priestly, bishop's, cardinal's and papal, but also a hat and a prayer book. There are many photos from his pontificate period.

The pope John Paul II has visited Wadowice three times. In June 1979, during his first pilgrimage to the home country, he met with the faithful on the Wadowice's Square. In August 1991 the pope consecrated a new church dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle, which had been created as a votive of thankfulness for the choice of the pope and for saving his life after the attack in 1981. The last time when the Holy Father met his native city was in June 1999. This meeting went down in history also as an unforgettable dialogue with fellow countrymen, memories from the youth.

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