The history of the church of St. Michael the Archangel was transcribed from a document photographed at the church in April, 2000.The Parish Church of St. Michael the Archangel -Rogalinek,
Poznań, Poland
The first church was probably erected around the year 1200 it is thought that the parish in Rogalinek was created in the 12th century. Since 1205 there has been a permanent priest here. The present church was founded around 1700 by Bishop Hieronim Wierzbowski the suffragan of Poznań. It is built of pine wood on the foundation of cobblestone. This one aisle church is closed from three sides, covered with shingles and crowned with a baroque-shaped tower.
In 1875 the building was secured on the outside with three wooden supporting struts. Next to the church can be found a wooden bell tower from 1893. During the early development of the diocese of Poznań the church in Rogalinek as well as the parish were owned by the Cathedral Church of St.Peter the Apostle in Poznań. Thereafter the parishioners of Rogalin were commonly known as "Swiatnicy sw. Piotra Apostola" The Churchman of St.Peter. The fact is still present in the name of the village Świątniki (Churchmen).
The main altar and the two side altars were made in the baroque style. In the main altar can be seen the gothic wooden statue of Virgin Mary the Helper of the Faithful, famous for her grace and wonders, worshipped by the faithful. There are also wooden statues of St. Szczepan and St. Wawrzymiec. Folk pictures of Merciful Jesus, St. Michael the Archangel and St. Mary Magdalen adorn the side altars. It is also worth noting the wooden figures of St. Michael the Archangel (18th.c.) and of the Virgin Mary the Painful (19th c.).
In 1962 the Pope made the Virgin Mary the Helper of the Faithful, another patron of the church in Rogalinek. In 1964 the archbishop of Poznan, Antoni Baraniak, gave the church in Rogalinek the honorable title of the Sanctuary of Virgin Mary the Helper of the Faithful. In 1968 under the patronage of Rev. Jozef Jamy, the provost of the Collegiate Church of Poznan, the church in Rogalinek was preserved andrenovated inside by Jozef Berdyzak from Srem with the assistance of Stanisław Bobrowski from Rogalinek.
During the renovation the church was given a new baptismal font and pulpit as well as new Stations of the Cross sculptured in lime wood. In 1972 the presbytery was modernized and a new conciliar altar was added. In front of the church there is a boulder taken from the Warta River near Rogalin in 1916. This stone commemorates the parishioners killed in WorldWar I; World War II and those tortured to death in the concentration camps.
