Sacred Heart church in Nowy Targ, Parish church in Nowy Targ, Poland.
The Sacred Heart Church is a three-nave parish church in Nowy Targ, the largest in Podhale, with a 65-metre tower, the tallest structure in the town. Its chancel holds a monumental altar of Pińczów marble depicting the Last Supper, carved by Mieczysław Stobierski of Kraków. The tower hangs four bells from Eugeniusz Felczyński's foundry in Przemyśl.
In 1902, Father Michał Wawrzynowski began efforts to build a new church. The site was consecrated in 1930, and Bishop Stanisław Rospond blessed the foundations on 9 October 1932. World War II and the German occupation stole building materials, and later communist authorities resisted the work. The first Mass was held on 23 December 1951 in the unfinished church, which Bishop Julian Groblicki consecrated on 23 September 1962.
Residents call it "the new church" to distinguish it from St Catherine's, the old parish church. On 4 November 1967 the parish hosted the start of the pilgrimage of the empty frames of the Our Lady of Częstochowa icon for the Kraków Archdiocese; Cardinal Karol Wojtyła and Primate Stefan Wyszyński attended the Mass. A monument to the Sacred Heart stands before the entrance, placed there for the 50th anniversary of the consecration.
The church stands in the Śródmieście district, and its 65-metre tower is the tallest structure in Nowy Targ, so it works as a landmark for orientation. The parish office is open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 16:00 to 18:00, except the first Thursday of the month. The organ, with 56 stops, was first played at midnight Mass in 1978.
The organ came from Kraków's Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic in 1978 through Cardinal Karol Wojtyła's help; four tongue stops were lost in transport, leaving 56 of the original 60 voices. It first played at midnight Mass that year and was blessed by Cardinal Franciszek Macharski on 28 January 1979.
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