Architecture and facilities

The cathedral, built in a neo-Gothic style, is a three-aisled cross-shaped pseudobasilica. It was constructed entirely from red brick, and was not rendered externally. The five-bay main aisle extends for 65 metres (213 ft), each with lateral arms 13 metres (43 ft) long. The octagonal lantern tower above the crossing is 30 metres (98 ft) high. The façade is based on the design of Westminster Abbey, and the tower loosely on that of Milan Cathedral.[5][12] Typically for old-style church buildings, each side aisle is strengthened by five buttresses, the ten together symbolising the Ten Commandments. Crosses were erected, as part of the renovation, surmounting each principal tower; the central façade pinnacle and two other façade pinnacles feature the crests of John Paul II and archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz.[12]

The first ten steps to the portal symbolise the Commandments, the eleventh symbolises Jesus Christ.[6][12] The portal symbolises Heaven’s gate, reached by obeying the Commandments and the teachings of Jesus. The portal is surrounded by columns and crowned by a wimperg, the gable spire of which is formed as a finial. The wimperg is decorated with a relief ornament, in the centre of which is a golden monogram “VMIC” (Virgo Maria Immaculata Concepta, Latin for “Virgin Mary, conceived unblemished”). The original architectural design provided a Star of David instead of the monogram,[6][12] a reference to the Jewish faith of the Virgin Mary. Above the wimperg is a 3-metre (9.8 ft) tall rose window, built from a light-coloured, translucent stone.[12]