Polski: Obraz Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej w koronie.
English: The Crowned Black Madonna of Częstochowa.
Photo: 29 May 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Robert Drózd.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Częstochowa, Czarna Madonna
- Piękna Pieśn Maryjna.
Available on YouTube at
Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.
The Black Madonna of Częstochowa (Polish: Czarna Madonna or Matka Boska Częstochowska, Latin: Imago thaumaturga Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae Conceptae, in Claro Monte ), also known as Our Lady of Częstochowa, is a revered icon of The Virgin Mary housed at The Jasna Góra Monastery, in Częstochowa, Poland. Several Pontiffs have recognised the Venerated icon, beginning with Pope Clement XI, who issued a Canonical Coronation to the image on 8 September 1717 via The Vatican Chapter.
The four-foot-high painting displays a traditional composition well known in the icons of Eastern Christians. The Virgin Mary is shown as the "Hodegetria" ("One Who Shows the Way"). In it, The Virgin directs attention away from herself, gesturing with her Right Hand toward Jesus as The Source of Salvation. In turn, The Child extends His Right Hand toward the viewer, in Blessing, while holding a Book of Gospels in His Left Hand. The icon shows The Madonna in fleur-de-lis robes.
Our Lady of Czestochowa.
Feast Day 26 August.
Plus, The Rosary.
Available on YouTube at
The origins of the icon and the date of its composition are still hotly contested among scholars.The difficulty in dating the icon stems from the fact that the original image was painted over, after being badly damaged by Hussite raiders in 1430. The wooden boards that backed the painting were broken and the canvas slashed.
Mediaeval restorers, unfamiliar with the encaustic method, found that the paints they applied to the damaged areas "simply sloughed off the image", according to the Mediaeval chronicler Risinius, and their solution was to erase the original image and to repaint it on the original panel. The original features of an Orthodox icon were softened; the nose was made more aquiline.
The icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa has been intimately associated with Poland for the past 600 years. Its history, prior to its arrival in Poland, is shrouded in numerous legends which trace the icon's origin to Saint Luke, who painted it on a cedar table top from The House of The Holy Family. The same legend holds that the painting was discovered in Jerusalem in 326 A.D., by Saint Helena, who brought it back to Constantinople and presented it to her son, Emperor Constantine the Great.
The Black Madonna of Poland.
Available on YouTube at
Polski: Uproszczony obraz godła Polski; oficjalne godło:
English: Simplified image of the Coat-of-Arms of Poland.
The official Coat-of-Arms can be seen at:
Date: 9 February 2008.
Source: From Polish Wikipedia. Originally uploaded
Author: pl:User:Follow by white rabbit.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Polski: Częstochowa - zespół klasztorny oo. Paulinów: Kościół pw. Wniebowzięcia NMP i Znalezienia Krzyża Św. z kaplicami, zakrystią, skarbcem, wieżą, klasztorem,
zabudowaniami gospodarczymi, arsenałem, drukarnią, domem muzykantów,
twierdzą z bramami i bastionami, park (zabytek nr A-12/78 z 17.02.1978).
English: The Jasna Góra Monastery (Polish: Jasna Góra, Luminous Mount, Hungarian: Fényes Hegy, Latin: Clarus Mons) in Częstochowa, Poland, is a famous Polish Shrine to The Virgin Mary and one of the Country's places of pilgrimage – for many the Monastery is a Spiritual Capital.
The image of The Black Madonna of Częstochowa, also known as Our Lady of Częstochowa,
to which miraculous powers are attributed, is one of Jasna Góra's most precious treasures.
Photo: 15 June 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Aw58.
(Wikimedia Commons)
