Corpus Christi Procession

The processions take place on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ; that is, 60 days after Easter or on the first day following Trinity Sunday. The main procession leaves Wawel Cathedral to reach the Main Square. Traditionally, en route there are four altars decorated with young trees and flowers that are placed along the route of the procession. The first is placed by the church of St Giles, and the other three in the Main Square: in front of the Pod Baranami Palace, at the mouth of Św. Jana Street, and in front of St Mary’s Church. A fragment of the Gospel is read out by each of the altars. Girls in white first communion dresses scatter flowers before the Blessed Sacrament that is carried in the procession.

In the afternoon, many parishes in the city organise their own, local processions. The first such celebration of Corpus Christi in Poland was held in the Diocese of Kraków in 1320. It has since then become one of the most symbolic and graphic processions in the Polish tradition.