Poland's Queen

For Poles, the Black Madonna of Czestochowa is far more than an object of Roman Catholic reverence. It is a source of historical continuity, a cause and remembrance of national liberation from foreign enemies, and a fount of miracles. The 4-ft. by 2½-ft. gilt-and-tempera dark-hued portrait of the Virgin Mary and Christ child is laden with gems and silver. By legend, the painting is attributed to St. Luke the Evangelist, and was executed on a table top from the house of Mary, Joseph and Jesus in Nazareth. It origins are unknown, but it may date as far back as 6th century Greece or Byzantium. The painting surfaced in Poland in 1382 at the recently founded Jasna Gora (Mountain of Light) monastery, a fortress-like institution located in Czestochowa, about 140 miles south of Warsaw.

The Madonna's status as an emblem of Polish nationalism dates from Sweden's invasion of the country in 1655. For 40 days, as the Swedes surrounded the monastery, the monks prayed to the Virgin for deliverance. The siege failed, and the Poles subsequently drove the Swedes out of the country. In gratitude, the reigning Polish monarch, Jan Kazimierz, dedicated his throne and the country to "the Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland." In 1711 the people of Warsaw walked to Czestochowa to thank the Virgin for saving the city from the bubonic plague. Ever since, the pilgrimage has been an annual rite.