"... she is Queen of Poland, Queen of heaven and earth;
she is our Queen who, as our Mother, watches over each of us
tenderly."
August 26, is a great feast for the Polish people; it is the feast
day of Our Lady of Czestochowa. This icon of Our Lady has been enshrined
in the monastery of the Pauline monks since the 14th century. The
origin of this painting dates back to the first century when legend has
it that St. Luke painted the image of Mary on a table top. During the
Teutonic invasion of 1430, it was damaged in an attempt to destroy it.
It still bears the marks of this assault, with the two slashes on Our
Lady’s cheek.
In the 17th century the Swedes invaded Poland. There was vast
destruction, and towns as well as Polish regiments fell under the
attackers. It seemed that Poland would be lost to the Swedish invaders.
The tide changed, however, when the Swedish army surrounded Our Lady’s
monastery and were not able to break into it. In spite of massive
bombardments and incendiary assaults for many weeks, it remained
undefeated. The dark complexion was due to a fire caused by one of these
forays. Mary’s monastery perdured. This gave inspiration to the rest of
Poland who organized and fortified themselves once again. The invaders
left; Poland triumphed; Our Lady was the means. One year after this
victory, King Jan Casimir, proclaimed her officially to be the Queen of
Poland. Later on she would be declared Queen by an act of the Polish
Parliament.
Our Lady is still the means by which all that is good can be
accomplished. Indeed, she is Queen of Poland, Queen of heaven and earth;
she is our Queen who, as our Mother, watches over each of us
tenderly. Let’s go to her always with our desires, our hopes and all of
our needs.
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