Kościół pw. Nawrócenia Świętego Pawła, Kraków

The Church of the Conversion of Saint Paul is a Baroque Missionaries’ convent church on Stradomska Street in Kraków’s Stradom district. Completed in 1728 to Kacper Bażanka’s design, it is known for its mirror-enhanced interior, black Dębnik marble high altar, Apostle sculptures, and silver tabernacle.

The Church of the Conversion of Saint Paul is the Missionaries’ convent church on Stradomska Street, in Kraków’s Stradom district. Its dedication recalls the conversion of the Apostle Paul. The building belongs to the Baroque tradition, a theatrical church style designed to surround worshippers with movement, light, and rich ornament.

The Missionary Fathers arrived in Kraków in 1682 to oversee the education of diocesan seminarians. A foundation stone for this church was laid in 1693, but the project took decades to complete. Kacper Bażanka designed the church, finished in 1728, while the monastery was completed four years later.

The façade remained unfinished until a 1960 restoration added the triangular pediment over its centre and parapets above the chapels. Notice the sandstone front and its limestone sculpture. Inside, Bażanka used mirrors to make the space feel broader and spread light more evenly.

The high altar, made in 1761 and 1762 from black Dębnik marble, holds a painting of Paul’s conversion. Ten Apostle figures fill the nave niches, carved by Antoni Frączkiewicz, and a silver tabernacle here dates from 1732 and 1733.