The city lies on the Warta river. It is the capital of Wielkopolska Voivodeship, the see of the Archdiocese of Poznań and an important point on the Piast Trail.
Bishop Adam Konarski, concerned about the increasing number of protestants in Poznań, dispatched the Jesuits to the city in 1571 and gave them the small St. Stanislaus of Szczepanów Church. The construction of a new sanctuary commenced in 1649 under the direction of Tomasz Poncino. College rector Bartłomiej Wąsowski continued the work and Jan Catenazzi completed it in 1701. The finishing touches (Dankwart’s polychrome vaults and Alberto Bianco’s stucco work) were still being added in 1737. The church belonged to the Jesuits until their cassation in 1773. The nearby St. Mary Magdalene Collegiate Parish Church was then stripped and demolished. The parish was transferred to the Church of St. Stanislaus of Szczepanów, which continues to serve it.
The portico in the facade with the sculpture of St. Ignatius Loyola and Latin acronym A.M.D.G. (Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam; Eng. To the Greater Glory of God) is attributed to Pompeo Ferrari.
The interior has three naves and is lavishly decorated in the triumphant Roman baroque style. Sixteen colossal columns with the figures of the 12 apostles on the capitals stand on both sides of the nave.
There is a painting of the Resurrection of Piotrowin in the high altar (designed by Pompeo Ferrari). Legend has it that the bishop purchased a village from Piotrowin but the contract was not set out in writing. When the squire died, his family accused St. Stanislaus of fraud. The bishop resurrected Piotrowin, who confirmed the truth. The sculpture on the left side of the altar depicts this very scene. On the right is a portrayal of St. Stanislaus Kostka trampling the dragon of sin.
The arms of the transept have two altars modelled on the altar in St. Ignatius Church in Rome. Both altars have paintings by Szymon Czechowicz – St. Ignatius Loyola in the left and a dying Stanislaus Kostka in the right.
There are 10 smaller altars in the aisles. There is a captivating Gothic figure of the Scourging of Jesus in the eastern aisle which probably comes from the former collegiate parish Church of St. Mary Magdalene.
The chapel at the end of the western nave has a sanctuary of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. The painting inside was crowned with papal crowns in 1961 (the first post-war coronation in Poland).
The organ was paid for by a townswoman who wished to remain anonymous. The instrument was built between 1872 and 1876 by Friedrich Ladegast from Weissenfels, Europe’s leading 19th-century organ builder. The organ has 2,579 tin and wooden pipes, the largest of which are 6 m tall and have a diameter of 45 cm.
There are two plaques by the exit. The first commemorates Fr. Józef Rogaliński, the eminent physicist and astronomer who wrote Poland’s first physics textbook, and the second, Fr. Jakub Wujek, the first rector of Poznań Jesuit College and the first person to translate the Bible into Polish.
Robert Sobociński’s bronze billy goats, an allusion to the legend of the Poznań town hall tower billy goats, have stood in the square in front of the Administrative Offices since 2002.
Address
ul. Gołębia 1
61-779 Poznań
Tel. +48 61 852 69 50
