Basilica of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Gietrzwałd, Catholic sanctuary in Gietrzwałd, Poland
The Basilica of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Gietrzwałd is a brick building in a small Warmian village, showing a neo-Gothic form with a tall tower and Latin cross plan. The interior includes galleries, a presbytery with crypt, and a sanctuary space that extends into the rear section of the building.
The first documented church at this site received consecration in 1500, replacing an older wooden chapel destroyed during warfare with the Teutonic Order. One century after the 1877 apparitions, the Vatican officially recognized the events and elevated the building to basilica status.
The sanctuary takes its name from apparitions in 1877, when two village girls reportedly received messages in their mother tongue. Pilgrims today visit the spring beside the building to collect water they consider spiritually meaningful.
The complex includes a museum of religious art and lodging for pilgrims who wish to stay for several days. Visitors reach the spring through a short walk from the main entrance, and the grounds remain open during daylight hours.
This sanctuary remains the only site of Marian apparitions in Poland ever recognized by the Vatican. The recognition came exactly one century after the events themselves.
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