The feature is related to the life and work of St Clemens Maria Hofbauer, who initiated the activity of the Redemptorists on the Polish territory.

History

In the 17th century, as a result of disputes spawned by the Reformation, numerous Catholic immigrants arrived in Poland, especially from Germany. In 1623 they established a charity association that was named the Brotherhood of St Benon, also referred to as the German Brotherhood. After some time the confraternity decided on erecting the temple. A wooden chapel of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was erected around 1632.

A dynamic increase of the number of members of the association caused the previous temple to be too small. Therefore, already in 1646 the construction of a new, brick church began. It was consecrated in 1649. The early Baroque is said to have been designed by Giovanni Battista Gisleni. In 1739 the interior of the church was consumed by the fire. Somewhere in the mid- 18th century a new, Rococo interior was made. In the 18th century the brotherhood significantly lost its momentum and the temple fell into disrepair. In 1787 an Austrian clergyman, St Clemens Maria Hofbauer, settled at the church and initiated the first community of the Redemptorists outside Italy. In the years 1788-1789 the congregation built a masonry monastery as well as wooden school and orphanage buildings close to the church. In the years 1801-1802 a chapel of the Saviour of the World was added to the church at the south end. In 1808 the Redemptorists were falsely accused of acting against Napoleon and by order of the French authorities they were removed from the Duchy of Warsaw. The church was taken over by the government and in 1822, under the supervision of an architect Aleksander Groffe, it was redesigned for secular purposes. It hosted, among others, barracks, a school, a military warehouse and private apartments. Over time, even a metal products factory was located here. In 1938 the property was bought by an ethnographer Maria Biernacka and donated it to the Warsaw Metropolitan Curia for the purpose of restoring the sacral functions of the building. The plans were interrupted by World War II. In 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, the church and the former monastery were destroyed. The Curia handed over the ruins of the buildings to the Redemptorists, who rebuilt the temple in two stages: in the years 1950-1952 and 1957-1958, according to the design by architect Bronisław Iwańczyk, prepared with certain modifications compared to the original form. The interior décor was performed in the years 1977-1978 according to the design by Zbigniew Wolak.

Description

The church is located in the New Town district, at the back of the east frontage of the Main Market. The front façade terminates in Piesza street.

The church is a brick building with plastered walls. The silhouette consists of a rectangular nave covered with a tall roof and crowned with a steeple and a semi-circular chancel, a sacristy and a chapel added to it. The front façade is of a single-axial type, two-storey and crowned with a gable. The front façade is framed on the sides on two lower storeys with pairs of Tuscan pilasters resting on a plinth and supporting the entablature. The entrance opening is framed by pilasters supporting the entablature stripe and a pediment. Above, there is a large rectangular window terminating in a segmental arch. The façade finial features a tall gable with a window, framed by volutes. A relief of the Redemptorists is located in the middle of the pediment. It represents a crucifix on the hill with crossed spears and a crown. The entire image is surrounded by a wreath. A slender steeple rises above the gable roof clad with roof tiles. The nave is topped with a barrel vault with lunettes, resting on arches.

The interior décor is modern. What deserves attention is mainly the wooden sculptures from the Crucifixion group, located in the chancel: Mother of God and John the Evangelist from the 16th century, Crucified Christ from the turn of the 19th century. They originate from the Museum of Sacral Art in Bard.

The postwar reconstruction was not preceded by thorough historical and architectural research, therefore it is not faithful to the original. Among the modifications, we need to mention the addition of pilasters and vault arches in the interior of the chancel, different arrangement of window patterns and front façade volutes and a completely new form given to the steeple.

Viewing of the church is possible before and after services.

Author of the note Bartłomiej Modrzewski, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch in Warsaw 16 October 2017

Bibliography

• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol. XI, Miasto Warszawa, ed. J. Z. Łoziński, A. Rottermund, part 2, Nowe Miasto, collective study, Warsaw 2001.
• Kobielski D., Pejzaże dawnej Warszawy, Warsaw 1974.
• Mączyński R., Bracki kościół św. Benona w Warszawie, “Mazowsze”, 1995, no. 5 (1/95), p. 55-66.
• Radźwicka-Milczewska A., Kościół p.w. św. Benona Redemptorystów [the so-called white record sheet], 2002.
• Żabicki J., Leksykon zabytków architektury Mazowsza i Podlasia, Warsaw 2010;