The feast day of Our Lady of Częstochowa is celebrated today, August 26th. The miraculous Icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa is one of the oldest icons of the Blessed Virgin in the world. The image portrays the Virgin Mary’s sadness and suffering.
Prior to 1382, the history of the miraculous icon is shrouded in legend and tradition: St. Luke the Evangelist painted the icon on a cypress tabletop from the House of the Holy Family at Nazareth. In 326 AD, St. Helena found the icon in Jerusalem and brought it to Constantinopole where it remained for centuries venerated by the emperor’s family. The Holy Picture reached Southern Poland as part of a dowry in a marriage between the royal families. In 1382, Ladislaus, Prince of Opole, brought the picture to Częstochowa during a war. A devastating attack by Hussite raiders in 1430 resulted in damages to the Holy Picture. Despite the attempt to repair the damage, the slashes on the face of the Virgin Mary are still visible.
I have visited the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pa twice and a year ago we were blessed to visit and venerate Our Lady of Czestochowa in Poland.
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