Our Lady of Czestochowa and the Jasna Gora Monestary

Father Simon waited patiently for our group to arrive and we were quite late.  He was a wonderful guide!  The Jasna Gora Monestary is a huge and impressive site.  Here is Father Simon gathering our group together for the tour.

Flags of all kinds line the walkway up to the monestary.

Like everywhere else in Poland, there was a wedding going on when we entered the church.  I was amazed at how the painting is "decorated" with different covers at certain times of the year.  Here was our view.

I can't end without talking a little about Our Lady of Czestochowa.  She is also sometimes know as "the Black Madonna."  Several years ago when I was first interested in visiting Poland, I had checked with a group that did tours and they kindly gave me the name of a lady who had recently gone on a tour with them.  As I recall, we talked by phone and sent a few e-mail messages back and forth.  I don't even remember her name, although I wish I did.  She sent me a metal picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa and I kept it on my bedside table ever since receiving it.  She told me that she hoped it would enable me to go to Poland. 

Apart from my own experience, here is some information from research I did on the painting and the monestary.  The painting has been at the monestary for six centuries.  The story related to the site is that St. Ladislaus decided to save the image from repeated invasions by the Tatars and while traveling to his birthplace, he stopped at Czestochowa where he decided to rest for the night.  When he was ready to leave the next day, the painting was placed in his wagon, but the horses refused to move.  Accepting this as a heavenly sign that the painting was to remain in Czestochowa, that is what happened.

Why is the Madonna black?  You will find different reasons given.  One may be the style of the painting - Byzantine in form.  It was present in the church during a fire which may have darkened the flesh tones.  Legend attributes its creation to St. Luke who painted a portrait of Mary on the cedar wood table at which she dined.  St. Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, is said to have located the painting during her visit to the Holy Land and brought it back to Constantinople.  It was allegedly transferred in royal doweries until it made its way to Poalnd and the possession of St. Ladislaus.       

Pope John Paul II was especially devoted to Our Lady of Czestochowa and sometimes credited her with saving his life during the assasination attempt.  He visited the monestary in 1979, 1983, and 1991.  One of the garments he wore when he was shot is on display in the museum.  Here is one of the paintings depicting that special relationship between Pope John Paul II and Our Lady.

Here is a final bit of trivia that I never knew about.  The painting wears different robes - kind of like a paperdoll changing her clothes, but on a much grander scale, of course!  Here is a summary of what I found on the internet.  I hope it is accurate. 

There are several robes that embellish the Madonna painting. The icon has been decorated with robes for centuries.  The robes are made of precious textiles adorned with gold and jewelry.  Presently, about ten different robes are used or displayed in the shrine museum. The most famous and the oldest preserved are made of diamonds and rubies. They were made by the monks who were craftsmen. The ruby dress is called a "fidelity robe" since it contains hundreds of wedding rings. The amber robe is "very Polish" since amber is one of the most precious Polish products. This robe was made by the gold and amber craftsman from Gdansk.  The tradition to embellish the Madonna icon with jewelry is as old as the history of the icon in Czestochowa.