Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...

Queen of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th ...

, Our Lady of Licheń, or Virgin of Licheń is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

venerated by its Polish faithful dating from 1772 and is permanently enshrined within the

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Licheń A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

, in central Poland, which was built to honor it, and receives about 1.5 million pilgrims per year. Matka Boska lichenska

Along with the

Black Madonna of Częstochowa The Black Madonna of Częstochowa ( pl, Czarna Madonna / Matka Boska Częstochowska; la, Imago thaumaturga Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae Conceptae, in Claro Monte, lit=Miraculous Image of the Immaculate Conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary ...

, located in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

, southern Poland, the image is one of the two most venerated Marian images in Poland. The image was canonically crowned by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

on 15 August 1967.

Description

In the central image, the Virgin Mary has a gold dress, is being crowned by two angels and is surrounded by a ring of stars. Below the image, a ribbon carries the inscription: "Queen of Poland, give us days of peace." The image measures 9.5 × 15.5 cm and is on larger panel of 16 × 25 cm. There is a second crown above the image, on the larger panel.

Legend and history

The icon was painted in 1772 as a replica of the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary enshrined in

Rokitno, Międzyrzecz County Rokitno is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Przytoczna, within Międzyrzecz County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Przytoczna, north of Międzyrzecz Międzyrzecz (; la, Meserici, ...

in Western Poland. According to legend, a Polish soldier (called Thomas Kłossowski) was wounded in the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

in 1813 and had a vision of the Virgin Mary who saved him from death and instructed him to look for the image upon his return to Poland. Kłossowski is then said to have looked for and found the image in the woods in

Grąblin Grąblin is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kramsk, within Konin County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Kramsk, north-east of Konin, and east of the regional capital P ...

as instructed. According to oral tradition, in 1850 Kłossowski and shepherd Nicholas Sikatka witnessed several apparitions of the Virgin Mary who called for repentance and prayer. In the apparitions, the Virgin reportedly predicted war and a cholera epidemic but also gave hope. During the cholera plague of 1852, the image became famous for performing miracles. On 29 September 1852, the image was moved to the parish church in Licheń and remained there until 2006. Cardinal

Stefan Wyszynski Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

, the Primate of the Millennium gave its

Canonical Coronation A canonical coronation ( la, Coronatio Canonica) is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a bull, in which the pope bestows the right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureole to an image of Christ, Mary or Josep ...

towards the image with the approval of Pope Paul VI on 15 August 1967.

The basilica

In 1994 the construction of the new basilica of

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lichen A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

was started to house the image and accommodate a large number of pilgrims. Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

blessed the basilica in 1999. The basilica is Poland's largest church, the seventh-largest in Europe and eleventh in the world. The basilica's organ created by Professor Andrzej Chorosiński and manufactured by the Zych company (157 stops, 6 manuals and pedalboard) is the largest instrument in Poland, the fourth largest in Europe and thirteenth-largest in the world. On 2 July 2006, the image was placed in the main altar of the basilica.

References

{{National symbols of Poland Paintings of the Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Poland Marian devotions The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland National symbols of Poland Angels in art

Description

Legend and history

The basilica

See also

References