Jesuit Church, Warsaw

Church of the Gracious Mother of God
Jesuit Church, rebuilt after World War II.
General information
Architectural style	Polish Mannerism
Town or city	Warsaw
Country	Poland
Construction started	1609
Completed	1626
Demolished	1944
Client	Society of Jesus
Design and construction
Architect	Jan Frankiewicz

Jesuit Church (Polish: Kościół Jezuitów), otherwise the Church of the Gracious Mother of God (Kościół Matki Bożej Łaskawej) is an ornate church in Warsaw, Poland. Immediately adjacent to St. John's Cathedral, it is one of the most notable mannerist churches in Poland's capital. Its beautiful slender tower may be seen from the Old Town Market Place.

The Jesuit Church was founded by King Sigismund III Vasa and Podkomorzy Andrzej Bobola (the Old) at Piotr Skarga's initiative, in 1609, for the Jesuits. The main building was constructed between 1609 and 1626 in the Polish Mannerist style by Jan Frankiewicz.

In 1627 the church was encompassed with three chapels, and in 1635 Urszula Meyerin, a great supporter of the Society of Jesus, was buried within. Meyerin funded a silver tabernacle for the church. She was also King Sigismund III's mistress, and was politically influential. Her grave was plundered and destroyed by the Swedes and Brandenburg Germans, in the 1650s, during the Deluge.

A vestibule was added to the interior of the temple in 1633, and a choir was added three years later. An altar made of silver was installed by Cardinal Charles Ferdinand Vasa in the 1640s. The interior of the church was damaged and looted in 1656.