When I look back, I see how the way of my life through the local environment, through the parish, through my family, leads me to one place, to the baptismal font in the parish church in Wadowice. In this baptismal font, I was accepted into the grace of God's sonship and faith of my Redeemer, into the community of his Church on 20 June 1920.
John Paul II
In the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Karol Wojtyła received his first sacraments. It was here, next to the baptismal font in the chapel of the Holy Family, that he was named Karol Józef on 20 June 1920, 33 days after his birth. The future pope was baptised by the military chaplain, priest Franciszek Żak. Emilia's brother-in-law, Józef Kuczmierczyk, and her sister, Maria Wiadrowska, were his godparents. He received his First Communion and Confirmation in this church. He also served as an altar boy here.
On the photo from the day of his First Communion, Karol is very sad because one month before the celebration, which was held on 26 May, his mother died (on 13 April). The funeral service took place in this temple. In the face of such a tragedy, the preparations for this special day became less important and the communion clothes for Karol were compiled at the last moment. They were to buy him the shoes just a few days before the ceremony, and the boy's shoes were no longer available so they had to buy girls' shoes, with the straps, and so Lolek wore them on his Communion Day. After receiving this important sacrament, Karol committed himself to the altar service, serving at the mass every morning. Even when he was not on duty, he would come to the church to replace another, possibly absent, altar boy. With time, he was elected the “head” of the altar servers and when the priest, Kazimierz Figlewicz left the parish, Karol said goodbye to their guardian on behalf of the altar servers.
The side chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help has always been a special place in the parish church, visited by middle school students in the morning before classes. Then, in the afternoon, after school, the same parade of students went to the church to pray.
In this church, Karol received the sacrament of Confirmation on 3 May 1938, from the hands of Fr. cardinal Adam Sapieha. On behalf of the school community, Karol delivered the welcome speech during the Cardinal's visit to the school. The speech made a great impression on the guest, as the young man's speech included also Latin quotations. The Archbishop asked the catechist, Fr. Edward Zacher: ‘Who is this young man and what will he study?’ The catechist answered that: ‘This is Karol Wojtyła and he is going to study Polish philology’. It is said that the Cardinal answered: ‘Too bad it's not theology’. These were very prophetic words, because 8 years later, in 1946, Cardinal Sapieha ordained Wojtyła as a priest.
In this temple, Fr. Karol Wojtyła celebrated his first masses (as a priest in 1946, as a bishop in 1958, as an archbishop in 1964, and as a cardinal in 1967) and, he visited this parish as the bishop of Cracow. On the 50th anniversary of his birth, he visited the chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and in the same year, on the anniversary of his baptism, he celebrated a solemn mass and consecrated three new bells: “Maria”, “Karol” and “Józef”. As Pope John Paul II, he made a pilgrimage to this church during all three visits to Wadowice: 1979, 1991 and 1999. In 1992, the Holy Father granted the church in Wadowice the title of Minor Basilica. In 2011, six years after the Pope's death, his relics were buried in the chapel dedicated to him.
