Holy Family Church

Thanks to the efforts of Tarnów Bishop Leon Wałęga, on the 1st of February 1904, first two priests from the Gathering of Missionaries arrived in Tarnów. They stayed at the Bernardine friary on Bernardyńska street and held services in the St Mary’s Church in the Burek. Excellent spot for construction was chosen and soon after construction began.

Land for the church and the house was donated by Princess Konstancja Sanguszko from Gumniska. It was build thanks to contributions from the Tarnów Diocese as well as Poles from America and Prussia. The church was named in accordance with the wishes of the church founder, Princess Sanguszko.

The building was erected between 1904 and 1906, according to architectural designs of Jan Sas-Zubrzycki and under a watchful eye of Augustyn Tarkowski. It was blessed on the 1st of September 1907 and consecrated on the 4th of October 1908 by Bishop Leon Wałęga.

In 1944 the church was damaged during hostilities and later renovated. It is a neo-gothic building, constructed from bricks and stone, covered with roof tiles and sheet metal, it has three naves a transept, chapels and a double tower massif. Church is equipped with mostly gothic furnishings, made by the Ferdynand Stuflerserr company from Tyrol.

Internal polychrom, figures and ornaments, were made in 1934 and were later renovated in 1955 by Jakub Bereś. Stained-glass windows in the transept were made according to plans by Jan Matejko. Up until the outbreak of the World War II, it was used by Polish Army as a garrison church.

In 1976 the presbytery was changed in order to accommodate the renewed liturgy. South-western Tarnów belongs to the Holy Family Parish, and it is the biggest Parish in the city. Parish Chronicles date back to 1903 and the birth register dates back to 1911.