The wooden altar at which John Paul II canonised Kinga has stayed where it stood. Next to it are a museum, a pilgrims’ house and St Kinga’s Gardens.
On 16 June 1999 more than 600,000 people gathered on the meadows of Stary Sącz. That day John Paul II proclaimed Kinga a saint and called out: “Do not be afraid to be saints”. They say fog prevented the Pope from flying in, so he came by car from Limanowa.
The wooden altar was designed by Zenon Andrzej Remi of Zakopane – not the same Zenon Remi who designed the “Sokół” building. The altar table originally rested on blocks of salt from Bochnia. The altar was to be moved to Nowy Sącz. After the mayor objected, it was decided in August 1999 that it would stay put. It is the only papal altar preserved where it was erected.
Since 2004 the “Opoka” Diocesan Pilgrimage Centre has operated beside the altar. It has a papal museum with more than two thousand exhibits, and since 2010 also a Pilgrims’ House. In 2015 work began here on St Kinga’s Gardens. Some 200,000 pilgrims come every year. If you happen upon a quiet day, walk around the altar and look at Stary Sącz from this side.
photo John Samuel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
