Church of St Francis of Assisi and St Clare in Tychy

The Church of St Francis of Assisi and St Clare in Tychy, known as Little Assisi (Mały Asyż), was built on the plan of a Franciscan cross. It stands at the junction of Przemysłowa and Paprocańska streets, and its forms refer to the basilica in Assisi.

How Little Assisi came about

In May 1999 Archbishop Damian Zimoń agreed to the construction of the church. The foundation stone was blessed by John Paul II on 15 June 1999. Construction of the church with the friary began on 4 May 2000. The design was made by Stanisław Niemczyk together with Anna Niemczyk-Wojtecka and Robert Wojtecki. In 2002 the pope blessed the foundation stone of the Chapel of Divine Mercy, into which in 2004 the relics of St Padre Pio and St Clare of Assisi were brought.

The building and its materials

The whole was built of concrete and light dolomite from Libiąż, in a manner referring to medieval architecture, especially to the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi. The dolomite is meant to recall the architecture of Umbria, and the concrete tinted brown the colour of Umbrian earth. The zacheuszki were made of pink dolomite brought from Assisi.

The upper and lower church

The church consists of an upper and a lower church. The upper one has a chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows, the ceiling is lined with wood, and the wooden altar refers to the panorama of Assisi. Beneath the baptismal font there is a copy of the tomb of St Francis. In the lower part there are two chapels, copies of the Assisi ones: the Portiuncula, in which the dimensions and layout of the stones have been reproduced, and the tomb of St Francis. Behind it are a crypt and the Chapel of Divine Mercy, and the round crypt has a radius of 8 metres. Above the entrance hangs a copy of the San Damiano cross, carved by Fr Wawrzyniec.

Symbolism and towers

The site at the fork in the roads had a shape close to a triangle, and a figure of the Virgin Mary with Child from 1893 stood here. The Portiuncula chapel was designed on the axis of the layout, which is accented in the fence by a cross-shaped opening. The design includes five towers referring to the wounds of Christ and the stigmata of St Francis. Four are 40 metres high, and the fifth, made of steel and not yet completed, is to be 70 metres high eventually.

Since 1999 the friars have organised a living nativity scene at Christmas, and in 2010 a columbarium for about 600 urns was built by the church.

Practical information

• Address: junction of Przemysłowa and Paprocańska streets, Tychy.
• It is an active church with a friary, so visiting is limited during services.
• Check service times and the possibility of visiting on the parish website.