Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pa.Her cheek wears scars that resemble the everyday struggles we all go through.
Perhaps that’s why so many visitors flock to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, about 110 miles from Harrisburg.
Father Karol Jarzabek, O.S.P.P.E., the Pauline Fathers’ sub-prior at the shrine, sees those scars and their connection to the human experience as a way the icon of the Blessed Mother in Poland – often called the Black Madonna – redirects a large number of pilgrims to her Son.
“Their experience is like a reconciliation with God, because we are flooded by people who are coming for the daily Sacrament of Reconciliation,” Father Jarzabek said.
“It is very important (and) touching that they are coming to their Lady who is not perfect, and she can be closer with those scars through the difficulties, struggles of people. They can identify with her through that, seeing a mother who knows what it means to suffer.”
The Pauline Fathers at the national shrine have a copy of the original icon. The order has played a major role in promoting Our Lady of Czestochowa for more than six centuries. The monks went to Czestochowa, Poland, encountered the icon, and a nobleman gave them the icon to protect inside the Jasna Gora shrine there.
Tradition holds that St. Luke first created the image on wood that had been used as part of a table the Virgin Mary owned. St. Helena is believed to have found the artwork in the Holy Land in the fourth century.
It had been stolen and damaged in the 15th century, where scars had been left on the Virgin Mary’s face. It is believed that every single time the icon was repaired, the scars would reappear and become a permanent fixture.
“The picture was renovated, and whenever the painter was trying to cover the scars during renovation, during the night, the paint itself was flowing down from the picture. And he did it again, and the same happened,” Father Jarzabek said.
“Mary wanted those scars, the sign that she would like to be closer to the people with their struggles, with their problems.”
The image of Our Lady of Czestochowa is also known as the “Black Madonna” from the soot that has covered the painting from centuries of votive candles placed in front of it.The icon bears similarities to others throughout the Catholic faith. Similar to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the icon shows Jesus as a vulnerable child. But even as the Blessed Mother holds her Son, her eyes peer right towards us, looking at us with those visible scars.
“She’s looking at the people, and from whichever angle you try to look at the picture, Mary is leading her eyes after you. It’s like she’s constantly watching you, protecting you,” he said.
“She’s watching on the person who is praying in front of the picture, but also her hand points to Jesus. It’s like a type of iconography called Hodegetria from Greek, which means ‘showing the way.’ Mary pointing to Jesus, she’s showing that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.”
Father Jarzabek said that after the attempted repairs to the icon and the continued presence of the scars on the Blessed Mother, the fame of the icon spread throughout Catholic society over the centuries.
“People were coming, asking for graces, praying, because they believe that this icon is holy in some way, that they can receive many graces, many blessings, praying in front of Our Lady,” he said.
Mary is also known as the Queen of Poland, as the nation celebrates May 3 as her feast day.
King John II Casimir Vasa swore an oath declaring her queen in 1656, during a time when Sweden was invading Poland. They attempted to take Czestochowa the year before, but Polish forces and monks combined to resist the invaders.
“There were not even 200 people against the 10,000-member Swedish army, and we believe that it was a miracle that this fortress was not destroyed, but defended by this little group of people,” Father Jarzabek said.
“A prior of this place, Father Augustine Kordeski, was holding the Blessed Sacrament and entrusted all the soldiers, all the members of the crew of the fortress to Blessed Mary. And through the prayer, through the miracle, it was kept safe and gave a spark of hope to the whole country,” he said.
Now, that spark of hope has spread across oceans and continents, as the Pauline Fathers came to Pennsylvania in 1955 and established the shrine in Doylestown.
As Cardinal Karol Wojtyla in 1969, the man who became St. John Paul II visited the Doylestown shrine in 1969.
In 1979, he visited the shrine in Poland, one which reflected his lifelong commitment to Christ through the Blessed Mother, one deeply relatable to those who encounter her through Our Lady of Czestochowa.
“Everything he did and was possible through him, through his ministry, was dedicated to Mary. He entrusted himself, our country, his papacy to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” Father Jarzabek said.
“If you really want to understand the greatness of John Paul II, you cannot understand it without Mary, without this devotion. It also can help people to understand how we can be closer to Jesus, how we can in our own way be great in our ministry, in our life, in our vocation.”
And, as he added, “It’s possible through Mary.”
(Shrine photo by Jay Sorgi, freelance reporter for the Catholic Witness. Icon photo from Wikimedia Commons.)
By Jay Sorgi, The Catholic Witness
