It was John Paul II who brought his first monument to Poland. The subsequent ones were not always successful

One can be tempted to say that he is a record holder in Poland in terms of the number of pedestals depicting him. And let’s not forget that, apart from large-format sculptures, there are also commemorative stones, plaques, crosses, obelisks, smaller plaster or plastic figurines – here the numbers probably run into thousands.

The first statue of John Paul II came to Poland with the Pope

Interestingly, it was actually John Paul II who erected his first monument in Poland. First, he received it as a gift from Italian artists – the author of the project is Jole Sensi Croci, who can also be proud of the fact that the bust of Maria Callas made by her stands in Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera. Wojtyła brought the statue to his home country in 1979 and presented it to the Archdiocese of Krakow. It was finally unveiled in the autumn of 1980 and can still be admired in the courtyard of the archbishop’s palace at Franciszkańska Street in Krakow – reports Witold Mrozek from

A rather unprecedented trend began symbolically at that time, because usually, after all, monuments are not erected to living people. Other clergy, however, were inspired and also began to put similar figures in their homes. In the times of the Polish People’s Republic, there were not too many of them, and they certainly did not have such momentum as they do now. They were located rather in discreet places – at the presbytery or behind the presbytery. Nevertheless, in the 1990s, the phenomenon of erecting monuments to the pope gained momentum.

Monument of John Paul II in front of the metropolitan curia Photo: Tomasz Wiech / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Here one can even indicate a specific date – in 1998, serious preparations began for the seventh pilgrimage of the Pope to Poland, who visited his homeland in June 1999. Kazimierz S. Ożóg, who specializes in this issue, author of such studies as “The Copper Pilgrim. Monuments of John Paul II in Poland in the years 1980-2005” and “John Paul II in the monumental sculpture after 2005. An attempt to diagnose the phenomenon,” reports that before 50 different pedestals were unveiled during that papal visit. As time has shown, these were only attempts at what was to happen, when countrymen wanted to honor the pope en masse after his death. In almost every county town in Poland, a statue of Karol Wojtyła has been erected. And it was still not the end, after all, another wave came in connection with the canonization of John Paul II. Already at that time, Ożóg, who specialized in the issue, admitted in an interview with “: – I stopped comprehending it.

The ugliest statue of the pope? It’s hard to choose

It’s hard to be surprised. There is nothing to hide, with such a number of monuments, there is not even a shadow of a statistical chance that – to put it mildly – all of them will be artistically successful. Searching for the ugliest or most absurd is not a difficult task at all. For example, in Łowicz there is a monument whose face resembles King Theoden from “The Lord of the Rings”.

Lowicz photo FxJ – Own work, Public domain | Wikipedia |

The installation in Tarnobrzeg is also exceptionally intriguing. There, the pope stands on a metal sphere, which in turn is located on something that resembles large tongs, and there is also a triangular plinth underneath. At the back, there is also a disproportionately large crescent moon and a yellow star on metal bars painted in blue. There is a popular discount store in the immediate vicinity.

The design of the monument in Licheń is equally intriguing. There, John Paul II strokes the head of an altar boy who is kneeling in front of him and hands him a miniature of the Lichen basilica. The concept is troublesome if only because the pope himself believed that the building in question was too lavish and exuberant in form.

Licheń – a statue of John Paul II in front of the basilica photo by Piotrus – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0| Wikipedia |

In Poland, for example, the world’s smallest statue of John Paul II was built and stood in Częstochowa. It was unveiled on September 7, 2013 during the ARTeria Festival of Contemporary Art in Public Space – it was created by an artist hiding under the pseudonym NeSpoon. The sculpture was part of a temporary installation and stood in the place where the city drinking fountains are located.

The smallest statue of Pope John Paul II in the world Photo. Grzegorz Skowronek / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

The world’s largest statue of John Paul II was also erected in Częstochowa. The 14-metre tall plastic statue is one of the attractions in the now closed Sacral Miniatures Park on Złota Góra. Initially, the statue in Częstochowa was supposed to be only 10 m high, but when it turned out that it was taller in Chile, the concept had to be changed. In an interview with Fakt, the production manager said:

The owner of the Park ordered a 10-meter figure from us. But on the internet we found the tallest pope in Chile, who is 12.77 m. We decided to raise the bar. We planned a figure of 14 m.

Installation of the statue of Pope John Paul II in Częstochowa Photo. Grzegorz Skowronek / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Papal monuments, scandals and boycotts

The giant pope from Częstochowa is a vivid reminder of Jesus from Świebodzin – he raises his hands in the same gesture, and of course a crane was needed to assemble it. It was not without controversy, as reported by “Newsweek”, the Association of Polish Architects in Częstochowa tried to intervene and appealed to the city authorities to stop the erection of the monument. They failed to accomplish anything. In fact, the unveiling of the monument was a great event, attended by the mayor of the city, Krzysztof Matyjaszczyk, Archbishop Wacław Depo and actor Jerzy Zelnik, who is known as an excellent interpreter of papal texts, reports the website “”.

The figure still stands in Zawodzie, near the city center. And by the way, unfortunately, it’s scary, because the Miniature Park turned out to be a business failure and has been closed for years. If someone cares, they can get to the area through one of the holes in the fence, but it’s rather a trip for the brave – the figures only deteriorate with time, and the park is overgrown with weeds.

The giant pope from Częstochowa still makes an electrifying impression and is often jokingly called a monument to Pudzian. But it is probably the figure standing in Świebodzice that shows more similarity to the former strongman-celebrity.

Świebodzice photo by Bonio – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 | Wikipedia |

Of course, we cannot forget about Jerzy Kalina’s loud and controversial installation entitled “Poisoned Source”, which in 2020 was exhibited at the National Museum in Warsaw. The figure of John Paul II throwing a boulder into red water was shown as part of the papal year celebrations and sparked a nationwide debate. The intention of the author, who is also the creator of the famous Smolensk stairs on Piłsudski Square, was to show John Paul II as “a titan with superhuman strength”. The stone held by the pope above his head and the blood-red water in the pond surrounding the figure were in turn to refer to “Polish myths and symbols”. What’s more, with its form, the whole also polemicized with the even more famous famous sculpture “La Nona Ora” by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelana. As we remember, the author decided to show the pope crushed by a meteor and the sculpture naturally caused a lot of indignation in Poland.

Art critic Bogusław Deptuła decided that Kalina’s project as a whole is simply embarrassing and depreciates the Pope himself. In his opinion, it should not be displayed in such a prestigious place as the entrance to the museum building. In an interview with Onet, he stated:

It is embarrassing that Jerzy Kalina is not ashamed of such a poor sculpture. Hell, also intellectually. “The Poisoned Spring” is to show that the pope is a mighty man. Yes, he was, but what Kalina presented is unthinkable. Throwing a stone at the “red plague”, Wojtyła will not be a saint in our eyes. He’ll be a butcher in a blood-splattered cassock.

Jerzy Kalina’s sculpture ‘Poisoned Source’ in front of the National Museum photo. Dawid Żuchowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

During his lifetime, John Paul II often said that he did not want any more monuments and would rather do something for the really needy instead. This is exactly what the Poles did not remember and as if they were holding a competition to see who could put up the most fancy pedestal. Good intentions, however, often do not go hand in hand with the quality of materials from which such a pope will be made. Plastic has the right to deform, concrete to crumble and paint to peel off. Polymer resin monuments, on the other hand, have an expiration date of 30-40 years, but you have to be careful not to let them get wet, frost is also deadly for them. So an important question arises – what will happen when all these papal monuments break down?