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Treasures of the Church- Marian Shrines and Apparitions |
Miraculous Icon of our
Lady of Czestochowa
Feast Day: August 26
by SCTJM
HISTORY
The legend says that after Jesus' crucifixion,
when the Virgin Mary moved to St. John's home,
she took with her some personal articles, among
them a table made by our Redeemer in St.
Joseph's workshop. The story continues and says
that when the pious women of Jerusalem asked St.
Luke to do a painting of the Mother of God, he
used this table to paint the image. The image
remained in Jerusalem for a time, until the
Romans began to destroy the city. Divine
providence guided the image to Constantinople,
where it was carefully protected by the
Christians there. By 802, the image appeared in
White Russia. During a war in the middle of the
fourteenth century, the image was struck by an
enemy arrow. Prince Wladyslaw, in order to
prevent the destruction of the image, decided to
transport it to the land of his birth. While
traveling through Poland, with the image in a
horse drawn carriage, the horses refused to go
any further when they reached the town of
Czestachowa. The prince went up to the chapel on
top of the hill Jasna Gora to pray, since he saw
the horses' refusal to go on as a divine
message. In a dream, Our Lady appeared to him,
and told him she wanted the image to be
venerated there in Czestochowa. This was in the
year 1382. The prince ordered the building a a
bigger and more elaborate Church, along with a
monastery. Pilgrims began traveling from all
over to venerate the image. She has been in
Czestochowa since this time, and has become a
national treasure of the Polish people, who
venerate her as the Queen of Poland. The present
Basilica in which the image resides was built in
1902.
THE PAINTING
The painting of the Virgin belongs to the type
of icons designated as Odigitria (a word
of Greek origin meaning "The one who shows and
guides along the way”). This wood painting
measures 122.2 cm by 82.2 cm by 3.5 cm and
represents the bust of the Virgin who carries
Jesus in her arms. The face of the Virgin stands
out in that whoever looks at the painting is
found immersed in Mary’s gaze: the pilgrim looks
at Mary who looks back. The Child also faces the
pilgrim but with a fixed look. Both faces have
serious and pensive expressions, giving the
painting an emotional tone. Two parallel
scratches crossed by a third mark the Virgin’s
right cheek. Her neck shows six other scratches,
two of which are visible, whereas the other four
can barely be seen. In the image, Jesus wears a
scarlet tunic and rests on His Mother’s right
arm as a makeshift throne in order to be seated.
The Child’s left arm holds a book, and the right
arm is raised as if he was giving his blessing.
The Virgin’s hand rests on his chest, points to
the Child, and appears to tell us: “Pay
attention to my Child Jesus.” The Virgin’s dress
and mantle are adorned with the flower of lis, a
symbol of the royal family of Hungary. The
brightness of their apparel contrasts with the
dark colors of their faces. A star with six
vertices is depicted on Mary’s forehead. Both
the Virgin and Jesus have golden halos. Given
the dark color of the face and hands of Our
Lady, the image has been fondly called “the
Black Virgin,” a phrase which reminds us of the
Song of Songs, “I am dark-skinned but
beautiful.” Her darkness can be attributed to
many reasons, one being the poor conditions of
the places where she has been hidden to
safeguard her. In addition, numerous candles
have been lit before her, causing her to be
constantly amidst smoke. As well, she most
likely has been touched by a multitude of
people. In the image, the wounds on her face
were caused by some bandits who tried to steal
the image in 1430. The wound on her throat was
caused by the Tartars who besieged the castle of
Belz; one of the enemy’s arrows went through the
Chapel’s window and hit the icon. The two cuts
on the cheek of the Virgin, along with the harm
previously caused by the spear through her
throat, always reappear despite the repeated
attempts to restore the image.
MIRACULOUS IMAGE
Throughout the history of the icon, our Blessed
Mother has manifested her powerful intercession
in the midst of many dangers. One of the most
well-known occurred on September 14th, 1920 when
the Russian army set up camp near the Vistula
River, where they were preparing to invade the
city of Warsaw. As a result, the people turned
to the Virgin Mary. The next day on the feast of
Our Lady of Sorrows, the Russian army withdrew
its troops after an image of the Virgin appeared
in a cloud over the city. The Polish refer to
this victory as The Miracle of Vistula.
The miracles attributed to the intercession of
Our Lady of Czestochowa are numerous and
spectacular, including resurrections. Princess
Anna Wisniowiecka in 1613 was boating and fell
into a raging river in the midst of a storm. She
cried out to Our Lady of Czestochowa to save
her, and Our Lady appeared and helped her safely
to shore. At the end of the seventeenth century,
there were a series of deadly epidemics that
swept their way through Europe, including
Poland. However, the city of Czestochowa was
never touched by any. The Pauline fathers
prepared for them, but they never came. These
are just a few of the many miracles attributed
to the icon and the intercession of Our Lady.
The record of all the miracles attributed to
this icon are kept by the Pauline fathers in
Czestochowa.
Official Site for the
Shrine of Our Lady
Czestochowa in Jasna Gora, Poland>>>
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
Copyright © 2006- SCTJM
