The foundation of this church is closely associated with the tale of three Hosts, according to which the desecration of the Blessed Sacrament had taken place. The Corpus Christi Church was built in the place where the Hosts had been buried. Already in 1400, the papal bull was issued, approving the foundation of the Carmelite monastery in Poznań. Six years later King Władysław Jagiełło (1351-1434) granted the foundation charter of the new church, which he became very fond of. He made pilgrimages there many times, asking God to intercede in private and public matters. He came there as well before the Polish-Teutonic War in 1409, asking for the success of the venture. King's prayers were answered, as he came back to the monastery after the war in thanksgiving, making a votive offering of the monstrance gained from the Teutonic Knights.
The construction of the church lasted for a very long time because of the difficult conditions in the location of the building. The meadows by the Warta River, frequently flooded by the river overflowing its banks, did not form a solid base for the huge construction. In the 15th century the church became one of the most important sanctuaries in Poland, together with the the Jasna Góra Monastery and the Holy Cross Sanctuary in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Its renown reached as far as the border of Lithuania and Moscow, and at some point the number of pilgrims visiting the place was larger than that of the pilgrims in the Jasna Góra Monastery. The notes of the Book of Miracles have been preserved until today. According to them, the faithful who were coming here received a number of graces, including miraculous healing.
The most precious treasure of the sanctuary is the already mentioned monstrance made approx. 1400. It is believed that it comes from the loot gained during the Battle of Grunwald. It is now the oldest liturgical vessel stored in Poland . Until 1935, when the monstrance underwent renovation, the most precious relics of the sanctuary - the three Hosts - had been kept in it. After the renovation the ornaments were removed and the Hosts were moved to the new monstrance decorated with the so called Crown of Queen Jadwiga. The new monstrance is now used during the main Corpus Christi procession in Poznań, while the older one, "the monstrance of Jagiełło", may be admired in the Archdiocese Museum in Poznań.
In the church special attention should be paid to the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in which worshipped relics were stored between the 16th and the end of the 19th century. Unfortunately, the access to the chapel is now very limited. The altar of St. Onuphrius, located in the centre of the church, also alludes to the tale of the Hosts. A group of sculptures depicting Jews throwing Hosts into the water is located in the altar. The altar was located in the place in which, according to the tradition, the Hosts appeared to the shepherd. The relation of the founder with the sanctuary in Poznań is emphasized by the portraits of the King Władysław Jagiełło and Queen Jadwiga, painted in Krakow in 1665. Interestingly, the royal couple in these portraits is dressed in the way contemporary to the painter of the portraits, and not in a medieval way, which would be more reasonable. When visiting the Corpus Christi Church, special attention should be paid to several tables documenting the floods that hit the church. The original baroque confessionals have also been preserved in the church. It is believed that in the one ornamented with a crown the King Jan III Sobieski (1629-1696) used to confess. In the south nave, under the floor, the cantilever with the emblem of the Angevins, discovered during the last renovation, was placed.
Address:
ul.Strzelecka 40
61-846Poznań
tel. no. +48 61 85 23 200
