Saints Hedwig and James church in Lusowo, Roman Catholic parish church in Lusowo, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland
Saints Hedwig and James church in Lusowo is a neo-Gothic brick church rebuilt in 1913–1916 to a design initiated by parish priest Ignacy Serdecki. The main nave has a wooden polychrome ceiling with the Holy Trinity, a pipe organ on the south gallery, and a 1917 wooden altarpiece from Georg Schreiner's workshop in Regensburg. The former Gothic presbytery, now the patrons' chapel, has a star vault and 17th-century Kierski tombs.
A wooden church likely stood here by the first half of the 13th century; the parish was erected in 1288 under Bishop Gerbicz. A brick church consecrated in 1499 replaced it, and a thorough renovation followed in 1776 under dean Andrzej Myszkowski. The present neo-Gothic church was rebuilt in 1913–1916 on the initiative of parish priest Ignacy Serdecki, keeping only the Gothic presbytery as a chapel; Cardinal Edmund Dalbor consecrated it in 1918. From 1941 to 1945 the Nazis used it as a warehouse.
The 1510 records name the church for the Virgin Mary, St James the Apostle and St Hedwig of Silesia. The chapel of the patrons holds a Baroque altar with a painting of Mary with the Child, St Hedwig and St James, flanked by figures of St John the Baptist and an unidentified saint holding a book. Since 2013 relics of St John Paul II have been kept there and shown for public veneration.
The church stands at Poznańska Street 2 in Lusowo, west of Poznań, within a brick walled churchyard. The main entrance is on the north side, where the epitaph plaque of General Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki is set; further epitaph plaques from the 19th and early 20th centuries, including that of Count Narcyz Olizar, are on the east exterior wall. The former Gothic presbytery, now the patrons' chapel, lies on the east side, set crosswise to the nave.
The chapel holds the 17th-century tombstone of Stanisław Kierski and his wife Anna of the Brodnicki family, with their figures and coats of arms. Since 2013 it has also housed relics of St. John Paul II, displayed for public veneration. Outside, by the north entrance, an epitaph plaque honours General Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki, second commander of the Wielkopolska Uprising of 1918–1919.
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