The Church of Blessed Honorat Koźmiński on Terespolska Street is one of the youngest churches in Biała Podlaska. It is dedicated to a native of the city, a Capuchin friar who founded more than twenty female and male congregations and became one of the prominent figures of the Polish Church in the 19th century.
Who is Honorat
Florentin Wacław Koźmiński was born in Biała Podlaska on October 16, 1829. He attended primary school here, then studied at a gymnasium in Płock and at the construction department of the Warsaw School of Fine Arts. In 1846, he was arrested for participating in an anti-Russian conspiracy and spent almost a year in the Warsaw Citadel. In 1848, he joined the Capuchins in Lubartów, took the name Honorat, and became a priest in 1852. After the 1863 uprising, the tsarist authorities closed most monasteries, and Honorat, living under supervision in Zakroczym and later in Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą, organized so-called "invisible" congregations — their members did not wear habits and worked among the people. He died in 1916 and was beatified by John Paul II in 1988.
Construction of the church
The parish was established on October 28, 1990, from part of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish. At first, it had only a chapel on Janowska Street. In 1991, the city council granted a plot on Terespolska Street free of charge; in 1992, the site was consecrated and a cross erected, and in 1993 Bishop Jan Mazur blessed the cornerstone. The church and presbytery were built between 1992 and 1998 through the efforts of parishioners under the leadership of the first parish priest Stanisław Zajk, following the design of Warsaw engineers Janusz Jaworski and Witold Kalinowski. On October 4, 1998, they were consecrated by Bishop Jan Wiktor Nowak.
Architecture
The building is modern, irregularly shaped; inside, the roof is supported by eight columns. Later, benches, confessionals, stained glass, and mosaics appeared, and in 2003 — an organ. It is an ordinary city parish church, so it is mainly interesting as a place of memory of Honorat. Another trace of the saint in the city is a stained glass window with his image in the chapel of the Church of the Capuchins of Saint Anthony.
How to get there
The church is located at 50A Terespolska Street, in the eastern part of Biała Podlaska. The city lies on the Warsaw–Terespol railway; for Ukrainians, this is Poland, a passport is required. Open during services. Nearby on the same street is the Orthodox Church of Cyril and Methodius, and in the city center — the Church of Saint Anne and the former Basilian church.
