Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows (), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are Titles of Mary, names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referr ...

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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

, locally known as the Virgin of Licheń is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

venerated by its Polish faithful. It dates to 1772 and is permanently enshrined within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Licheń, in central Poland, which was built to honor it, and receives about 1.5 million pilgrims per year.

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

issued a decree of Pontifical coronation for the image on 8 November 1965. The rite of coronation was executed by the former Archbishop of Warsaw, Cardinal

Stefan Wyszyński Stefan Wyszyński (3 August 1901 – 28 May 1981) was a Polish Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Warsaw and Archbishop of Gniezno from 1948 to 1981. He previously served as Bishop of Lublin from 1946 to 1948. He was created a ...

on 15 August 1967.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

decreed her shrine as a

Minor Basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

on 25 February 2005. The image was officially enshrined within the building on 2 July 2006. Along with the

Black Madonna of Częstochowa The Black Madonna of Częstochowa (; ), also known as Our Lady of Częstochowa () is a venerated icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary enshrined at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland. Pope Clement XI issued a Pontifical decree of canon ...

, the image is one of the two most venerated Marian images in Poland.

Description

In the central image, the Virgin Mary has a gold panel dress created in 2017 for its 50th year thanksgiving anniversary of Pontifical coronation. The Marian image is 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. The actual Pontifical crown of 1967 is above the original image, set on the larger frame panel created in 2004.

History

The icon was painted in 1772 as a replica of the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary enshrined in Rokitno, Międzyrzecz County in Western Poland. According to legend, a Polish soldier, Thomas Kłossowski was wounded in the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

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 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 claims of purported miraculous healing. On 29 September 1852, the image was moved to the parish church in Licheń and remained there until 2006. The Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski executed the rite of

Canonical Coronation A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a formal decree of a papal bull, in which the pope bestows the pontifical right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureola, aureole to an image of ...

towards the image with the 1965 decree of Pope Paul VI on 15 August 1967.

Minor Basilica (2005)

In 1994, the construction of the new basilica of Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lichen was started to house the image and accommodate a large number of pilgrims. Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

blessed the basilica in 1999, and decreed the title of minor basilica in 2005. 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. In 2004, the marked golden protective altar frame was constructed for veneration. On 2 July 2006, the heavily guarded image was placed in the main altar of the basilica.

References

{{National symbols of Poland 1772 paintings 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 Our Lady of Sorrows

Description

History

Minor Basilica (2005)

See also

References