St Peter’s Square is surrounded by a colonnade crowned by 139 monumental statues of saints symbolising the Triumphant Church. It was designed by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini ( 1598–1680).

In the southern arm of the colonnade, third from the left, stands a statue of the Polish saint, the Dominican Jacek Odrowąż ( 1183–1257). He is part of a group of reforming saints and founders of religious orders, which fitted perfectly with the ideology of the Counter-Reformation.

The statue was created between 1667 and 1678 by the sculptor Lazzaro Morelli ( 1619–1690). The saint, dressed in a Dominican habit, holds a monstrance (a liturgical vessel for the host) in his right hand. This alludes to the story of how Odrowąż, fleeing a Tatar invasion from the monastery he had founded in Kyiv, took the Blessed Sacrament with him to protect it from desecration.

The sculptor depicted the Dominican friar with a laurel branch and a mitre lying at his feet – both attributes are iconographic errors. For Saint Hyacinth did not die a martyr’s death, he was not a bishop, and mitres were not worn by the superiors of mendicant orders (the Dominicans and Franciscans).

This stems from the original, unrealised concept, in which the plan was to place on the colonnade a statue not of St Jack, but of another Polish saint - Prince Kazimierz ( 1458–1484), one of the patron saints of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Mementoes of the Battle of Vienna

Among the numerous gifts presented to the popes in the Vatican collections are valuable mementoes associated with the wars against Turkey , and in particular with the Victory of Vienna.

Jan III Sobieski ( 1629–1696), although he never visited Rome himself, occupies an important place in works of art associated with the capital of the Papal States. Regarded as the principal architect of the victorious relief of Vienna, he was seen as a defender of Christianity and European civilisation.

Jan III’s exploits are described in numerous printed works and manuscripts featuring images of the monarch, held in the Vatican Library . The most famous artefact associated with the Polish king was the banner of the Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa, captured during the Battle of Vienna and sent as a gift to Pope Innocent XI.

The crimson banner, edged with a green border, was covered with inscriptions containing the tenets of Islam, embroidered in gold thread. The royal envoys, together with the banner, presented the Holy Father with a letter from the king, beginning with the memorable words: ‘Venimus, vidimus, Deus vincit’.

The banner, placed above the main entrance to St Peter’s Basilica, became, in the eyes of Europe, a symbol of Christianity’s triumph over Turkish power, and in recognition of his merits, the Pope conferred upon the King the title of Defensor fidei (Defender of the Faith) in 1684.

Unfortunately, the later fate of this most famous of the Vatican’s Polish artefacts remains unknown; there are several research hypotheses on the subject. The object is currently considered lost. The appearance of this valuable artefact can be reconstructed on the basis of surviving engravings and descriptions.

The tomb of the king’s granddaughter

The fame of John III and the subsequent stay in Rome (1699–1714) of the Queen Dowager Maria Kazimiera ( 1641–1716) meant that the Sobieski family enjoyed special favour at the papal court.

The daughter of John III’s eldest son, Prince James (1667–1737), Maria Klementyna ( 1701–1735), married James Stuart ( 1688–1766), a Catholic pretender to the English throne, in 1719.

The couple, who enjoyed the Pope’s favour, settled in Rome, and Maria Clementina became a renowned patron of the arts. Following her untimely death in 1735, she was buried in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica , and the following year Pope Clement XII expressed his wish to have a tomb erected for her .

Situated in the left aisle, above the door leading to the dome, this monumental monument is the work of several artists. It was created between 1739 and 1742 , and was commissioned by Popes Clement XII and Benedict XIV .

On the drapery-covered sarcophagus bearing the inscription ‘Maria Clementina Magnae Britaniae Franciae et Hiberniae Regina’ (Mary Clementina, Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland), a seated personification of Love—understood as both love for God and maternal love—is depicted; beside her stands a putto holding a medallion with a mosaic portrait of the queen. At the foot of the sarcophagus, two putti are depicted holding the attributes of royal power – a sceptre and a crown.

The placement of the tomb above the doorway has significant symbolic meaning . It alludes to a transition, the conclusion of one’s earthly life and the beginning of eternal life in heaven. The tomb was designed by Filippo Barigioni ( 1690–1753), the sculptures were created by Pietro Bracci ( 1700–1773), and the mosaic portrait of the deceased was by Fabbio Cristofani ( 1680–1748). The tomb of John III’s granddaughter is undoubtedly the most beautiful female tomb in St Peter’s Basilica.

A chalice from Lviv

A remarkable Polish artefact is the chalice presented to Pius IX by pilgrims from Lviv in 1877 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of his episcopal ordination, funded on the initiative of Lviv City Council through public donations.

The chalice’s elaborate iconographic programme refers to significant events in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and its role in the history of Christianity in Europe.

The bowl is adorned with an image of Our Lady of Częstochowa and a symbolic depiction of the Union of Brest. The foot of the chalice features depictions of Polish saints: St Stanislaus, St Adalbert, St Josaphat Kuncewicz and Blessed Andrew Bobola, as well as St Kinga, St Hedwig of Silesia, Blessed Salomea and Blessed Bronisława.

There are also medallions depicting scenes from the battles of Legnica, Varna, Orsha and Vienna. The patriotic theme is complemented by the coats of arms of Poland, Lithuania, Ruthenia and the city of Lviv.

The chalice was crafted in the Marchesini goldsmith’s workshop in Florence. The designer of this extraordinary piece of goldsmithing, the sculptor and poet Teofil Lenartowicz ( 1822–1893), completed it with the following verses:

This chalice holds your history

O my homeland, and within it the Blood of God;

For the Blood that has been shed and still flows

The angels will open the gates of heaven.

Since the silent Sacrifice is celebrated,

No such chalice has been raised.

The Polish Chapel

The most monumental structure associated with Poland is the Polish Chapel , situated in the so-called Vatican Grottoes, that is, the underground chambers of St Peter’s Basilica .

It was established in 1953, when Pope Pius XII, in response to requests to erect an altar associated with Poland, gave his consent to the establishment of a Polish chapel, suggesting that it be dedicated to Our Lady of Częstochowa .

Funds for the interior décor were provided by Monsignor Alfons Aleksander Skoniecki ( 1894–1975), parish priest of the Polish parish in Three Rivers, Massachusetts (USA).

The chapel was designed by the architect Francesco Vacchini, and its sculptural decoration was entrusted to the Polish sculptor Michał Paszyna ( 1903–1970). The altar features a mosaic depicting Our Lady of Częstochowa, flanked by bas-reliefs of the patron saints of Poland – St Stanislaus and St Adalbert.

The décor is complemented by reliefs of Polish saints: Brother Albert Chmielowski, John Kanty, Stanislaus Kostka, Jacek Odrowąż, Maximilian Kolbe, Casimir, Hedwig of Silesia and Andrew Bobola.

The chapel was enlarged during the pontificate of St John Paul II .

Places associated with the Polish Pope

When writing about Polish traces in the Vatican, one cannot fail to mention the sites associated with the Polish Pope – St John Paul II ( 1920–2005).

In one of the windows overlooking St Peter’s Square, in the building situated between the Courtyard of St Damasus and the square, there is a mosaic depicting the Virgin Mary as Mater Ecclesiae ( Mother of the Church), featuring John Paul II’s coat of arms and the motto ‘Totus Tuus’.

The mosaic was created in 1981 following the assassination attempt on the Pope, who attributed his survival to the intercession of the Virgin Mary. It is modelled on a painting in St Peter’s Basilica depicting Mary with the Child, known as the Madonna della Colonna.

The very site of the assassination is commemorated by a small marble plaque set into the pavement of the square. The slab bears the date: XIII V MCMLXXXI, with the papal coat of arms above it. It was unveiled in 2006 on the eve of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the assassination attempt.

The most important site for the many pilgrims who come to Rome is the tomb of St John Paul II in the Chapel of St Sebastian. The Polish Pope is commemorated by a simple marble slab bearing the inscription SANCTVS IOANNES PAVLVS PP. II, set into the altar table.

It is symbolic that Innocent XI, a pope favourable to Poland, was previously buried in this chapel ; Jan III Sobieski had presented him with the Grand Vizier’s standard captured at the Battle of Vienna.