Saint Sophia church in Bobowa, Gothic church in Bobowa, Poland.
Saint Sophia Church in Bobowa is a Gothic religious building constructed from stone featuring vaulted interiors and numerous windows for natural light. The structure displays pointed arches and substantial walls characteristic of medieval sacred architecture.
The church was built in the second half of the 15th century and first mentioned in 1475. It was temporarily taken over by Arians and reconsecrated by Catholics in 1646. Fires damaged it repeatedly; it was thoroughly restored in 1808 through the efforts of Michał Miłkowski and again at the beginning of the 20th century. On 15 May 2018, during the feast of Saint Sophia, Bishop Andrzej Jeż of Tarnów consecrated the restored church.
The church is the patron saint's shrine of Bobowa, and its annual indulgence for Saint Sophia is held on 15 May. On that day in 2019 the Bishop of Kielce, Jan Piotrowski, consecrated three new bells named Faith, Hope and Love, after the daughters of Saint Sophia.
The church stands in Bobowa, in the Diocese of Tarnów, and serves as a filial church of the All Saints parish. Its patronal feast of Saint Sophia is celebrated on 15 May, when an annual indulgence takes place; the restored interior was consecrated by Bishop Andrzej Jeż on that date in 2018. The 19th-century bell tower beside the church holds three bells named Faith, Hope and Love, blessed on 15 May 2019.
A late-Gothic stone stoup from the fourth quarter of the 15th century is set into one of the buttresses; it carries mouchette tracery and may once have been the bowl of an older baptismal font. The three bells in the 19th-century belfry, cast in 2019, are named Faith, Hope and Love after Saint Sophia's daughters.
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