1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Visit of Pope Francis in Cracow

Reverse

The silhouette of Pope Francis with the Wawel Cathedral in the background.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
PIELGRZYMKA PAPIESKA
KRAKÓW 2016

Comment

The Wawel Cathedral, national sanctuary and coronation site of Polish monarchs, has played a vital role in the history of the Polish nation. It is deeply ingrained in the collective imagination of Poles. Its construction was initiated around 1000 CE. Since then it was a subject to several reconstructions. Since 14th century it has been a burial site of several Polish kings, leaders and national heroes. The St Leonard’s Crypt houses the tombs of Polish national poets who popularized the idea of Polish independent state: Juliusz Słowacki and Adam Mickiewicz. The Cathedral is also a veneration place of St Stanislaus. His silver sarcophagus is placed in the central part of the Cathedral, which is called “The Altar of the Fatherland” (Ara Patriae). It is the place where Polish kings brought their war trophies, including the Teutonic battle flags captured by Jogaila troops in the Battle of Grunwald.

First pilgrimage of pope Francis to Cracow, Poland, has been organized on the occasion of the World Youth Day. His visit to the Wawel Cathedral is highly symbolic in meaning. The sanctuary with a 1,000-year history, the heart of Polish statehood, has been visited by two successors to Saint Peter: John Paul II and Benedict XVI. In 1978 (two weeks after his succession to the Holy See), John Paul II wrote about the Cathedral: “this is the place where beats the heart of Poland, and my heart beats there, too”. During his first pilgrimage to Poland, John Paul II visited the sanctuary in the very first place.

Interesting fact

Price

Date	Mintage	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC
2016	1000	-	-	-	-	-	-

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