Church of John of God, Warsaw

Ogólne informacje

The Church of John of God is a Roman Catholic church belonging to the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God (the Bonifratrzy). It is located at 12 Bonifraterska Street in Warsaw. From 1976 to 2013 it was the seat of the now defunct parish of St. John of God (Parafia św. Jana Bożego w Warszawie).HistoryIn 1650, Bogusław Leszczyński, in his hereditary village of Leszno near Warsaw, founded a church and monastery bonifratellom as it was then called the Brothers (Bonifratrów). The first prior of the monastery was a Neapolitan priest Father Modest Genoino, a popular surgeon in Warsaw. The foundation was modest and the location too far from the center. The Brothers Hospitallers were supported by the Morsztyn brothers: clerk to the Crown, Tobiasz Morsztyn and poet and Royal secretary Jan Andrzej Morsztyn.Seeing how far the church and monastery were from the center of Warsaw, they provided money for its move.Jan Wielopolski had given Tobiasz Morsztyn a square which was on Wielopole and in this area Jan Andrzej Morsztyn built the Saxon Palace at what is now Piłsudski Square.The construction of the new church and convent was completed in 1673.In 1713, Augustus II the Strong bought Morsztyn's palace as his residence and expanded it into neighbouring areas which included the monastery and church. Therefore, funds were allocated for the construction of a new church on the spot where it is now.Work began in 1728 and a few years later, the Bishop of Poznań Jan Joachim Tarło dedicated...