Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ludźmierz

In 1234 Teodor Gryfita began raising a simple wooden church with a shingled roof and three altars in Ludźmierz, after obtaining permission from the bishop of Kraków.

These buildings which burnt down in 1796, had been practically abandoned since 1245 due to the high frequency of raids by bands of Tatars and thieves and the monks moved to nearby Szczyrzyc.

[2] Perhaps the most well-known story regarding the shrine is an incident during the Canonical Coronation of the statue by Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński on 15 August 1963, attended by the future Pope John Paul II as Bishop of the Archdiocese of Kraków.

Multiple copies of the figure have spread all over the world, from the Pfarrkirche of St. Johannes Baptist in Baindt to the church of St. Mary of Częstochowa in Cicero.

When he understood that this mysterious figure had been Mary, the mother of Jesus, he attempted to kneel to give thanks in prayer when a miraculous spring burst forth.