Detail from The Icon of the Black Madonna, Our Lady of Czestochowa

History of The Icon of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa

The Icon of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, known as Our Lady of Czestochowa, is a miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary housed at the Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa in Poland.  Sometimes the Icon is referred to as Our Lady of Jasna Gora, and is used to represent Our Lady of Mercy. The Icon is under the care and protection of the Monastic Order of St. Paul the First Hermit - Ordo Sancti Pauli Primi Eremitae (OSPPE) - also called the Pauline Fathers. The apostolate of the Order includes fostering devotion to the Mother of God and running shrines in Her honour. 

The Order of St. Paul the First Hermit was founded in 1215 in Hungary by Blessed Eusebius of Esztergom (c. 1200-1270). Through his efforts, the saintly hermits of Hungary were united in monasteries under the patronage of St Paul the Hermit (c. 227-c. 341), who had lived the solitary life of a hermit some 870 years earlier. St. Paul the First Hermit is one of the patron saints of children. 

The Order's apostolate includes two significant shrines in Australia. The Shrine of Our Lady Help of Christians at Marian Valley in the Gold Coast Hinterland in Queensland, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy at Penrose Park in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Both of these shrines include true copies of the Miraculous Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa. 

The Icon was given as a gift by the Byzantine Emperor to a Ruthenian nobleman and was installed in the Royal Palace of Belz where it remained until 1382. In that year the Icon was pierced by an arrow during a Tartar attack leaving a scar, which is still visible on the image of the Madonna's neck. Due to frequent threats of invasion by Tartars and concern for the safety of the painting, Prince Ladislaus Opolski, the governor of Ruthenia, decided to move the Icon to one of his castles in Upper Silesia. During the move, on the brow of a limestone hill called Jasna Gora (Hill of Light) within a few paces of the town of Czestochowa, the horses drawing the wagon with the painting stopped. No amount of coaxing or goading could make them go on. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Ladislaus in a dream and told him this was to be Her new home. The Miraculous Image was placed in a small wooden church and given to the care of the Latin Rite Hermits of Saint Paul who are still there to this day. Ladislaus ordered the building of a church and a monastery for the Pauline Fathers to hold the Icon.

In 1430 the monastery at Jasna Gora was attacked by Hussite robbers who disfigured the Icon by slashing it with a sword twice cutting into the right cheek of the image of the Blessed Mother. The two slashes on the image of the cheek of the Blessed Virgin, together with the previous injury to the neck, have always reappeared despite repeated attempts to repair them. The Icon has survived other attacks on the monastery including in 1466, 1655, 1656, 1702, 1704 and 1705. 

In 1655 when Poland was almost entirely overrun by King Charles X of Sweden, only the area surrounding the monastery remained unconquered. Miraculously, the monks who lived there and a tiny contingent of noblemen and soldiers were somehow able to defend the portrait throughout a 40 day siege, and Poland was eventually able to drive out the invaders. After this miraculous event, King John II Casimir Vasa crowned the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa as Queen of Poland, placing the entire country under her care and protection.

The Icon of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa has been crowned by Pope Clement XI (1649-1721) in 1716 and by Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914) in 1910. 

The victory over the Bolshevik armies in the battle of Warsaw in the Polish-Soviet War, the “Miracle of the Vistula” on the Feast of Assumption, August 15th 1920 was attributed to Our Lady’s intercession. This victory saved not only the newly reborn Polish State but also prevented an invasion by communists into Europe, devastated by the Great War. 

In addition, in the 20th century both the Jasna Gora Monastery and the miraculous Icon it houses have survived two World Wars, and a Nazi and a Communist occupation. It is also believed Our Lady helped in the successful struggle against communism in 1980-89, and the Nobel Peace Prize received by Lech Walesa was offered by him to the Black Madonna and is kept in the monastery treasury. The monastery also holds a blood-stained stole worn by the Polish Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005) at the time of his assassination attempt.

Numerous miracles are attributed to Our Lady of Czestochowa, from success in battles to remarkable physical healings to spiritual conversions. Over 1000 recognised miracles have occurred, accounts of which are kept in the monastery with dates as far back as 1402.

The Icon of the Black Madonna, Our Lady of Czestochowa

The Icon

The Icon of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa is painted on three linden boards having the following total dimensions: height, 47.6 inches; width 32 inches; and maximum thickness 1.37 inches. The Icon depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary standing with the child Jesus in her arms. Both have expressions of thougtfulness, the Blessed Virgin Mary looks at the faithful, while the child Jesus directs His gaze toward the pilgrim and beyond. Our Blessed Mother's face dominates the painting and observers find themselves immersed in her eyes. Regardless of the angle they look at the Madonna, she looks back at them.

The Blessed Mother’s right cheek is marked with two parallel scratches, while a third scratch is on the nose line. On the neck we can see six cuts, two of which are clearly visible, while the other four cuts are more hidden. The Child Jesus rests on the Blessed Virgin's left arm; in His left hand He holds the Bible, while He raises His right hand in a gesture of sovereignty and benediction. The right arm of the Blessed Mother points to Jesus, who is the only Saviour of the world.

The Icon is a Hodegetria icon, meaning one who shows the way. Thus, Our Lady is depicted as pointing away from Herself and towards the Christ Child as the source of salvation for humankind. The Icon owes its dark appearance and title of Black Madonna to the centuries of candle smoke and incense burned before it.

A Prayer to Our Lady of Czestochowa

Holy Mother of Czestochowa, you are full of grace, goodness and mercy. I consecrate to you all my thoughts, words and actions – my soul and body. I beseech your blessings and especially prayers for my salvation. Today I consecrate myself to you, good Mother, totally – with body and soul amid joy and sufferings, to obtain for myself and others your blessings on this earth and eternal life in heaven. Amen.

Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland, pray for us.

A Prayer to the Black Madonna, Our Lady of Mercy, Shrine at Penrose Park

O Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we believe in your triumphant assumption into heaven where the angels and saints acclaim you as Queen. We thank you for enabling us to have your Icon in our church, built in your honour for the greater glory of God. Through your Holy Icon, O Lady of Mercy, flow healing and wholeness in abundance to all who draw near to it in faith and love.

Our Lady of Mercy, we entrust ourselves, our loved ones and our country, Australia, to you. We promise to spread your glory by making you known under the title of the Black Madonna, Our Lady of Mercy.

O Mother, intercede for us so that the fruits of the Coronation in 2001 will not be lost and that the seeds of grace will grow to the full measure of the holiness to which we are all called.

Queen of All Hearts, we turn to you for protection, listen to our prayers and help us in our needs. Do not cease to shine before the pilgrim people of God as a sign of sure hope and consolation. We entrust to you all troubled families, the innocent and unborn children, the elderly with no one to help them, and all who are alone and without hope. Guide and sustain us, O Virgin Mary, on our journey of faith so that we might always live as true sons and daughters of the Church and obtain for us the grace of eternal salvation. Enable all to meet Christ, the light of the world and its only Saviour, the Way, the Truth and the Life, who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

- The image copy of the Icon of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy at Penrose Park in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales was crowned in 2001 with crowns also blessed by the pope for the occasion. The tradition of crowning an Icon began in Rome as a way of acknowledgement of the powerful intercession of Our Lady for all pilgrims.

Original Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Jasna Gora Monastery, Poland

Novena in Honour of Our Lady of Częstochowa  

O Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we believe in your triumphant Assumption into heaven where angels and saints acclaim you as Queen. Through your Holy Icon, O Our Lady of Mercy, flow healing and wholeness in abundance to all who draw near to it in faith and love.

Queen of Mercy, we turn to you for protection, listen to our prayers and help us in our needs. Do not cease to shine before the pilgrim people of God as a sign of sure hope and consolation. We entrust to you all troubled families, the innocent and unborn children, the elderly with no one to help them, and all who are alone and without hope.

Guide and sustain us, O Virgin Mary, on our journey of faith so that we might always live as true sons and daughters of the Church and obtain for us the grace of eternal salvation. Enable all to meet Christ, the light of the World and its only Saviour, The Way, the Truth and the Life, who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Hail Mary… (3 times)

Holy Mother of Jasna Gora, Mediatrix of all graces, you are full of grace, goodness and mercy. I consecrate to you all my thoughts, words and actions, my soul and body. I ask your help and especially your prayers for my salvation. Today I consecrate myself to you, Holy Mother, totally, with body and soul amid joys and sufferings to obtain for myself and others your help on this earth and eternal life in heaven. Amen.

Final Prayer:

We fly to your patronage, O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers. O glorious and blessed Virgin. We humbly ask you to be our Lady, our Intercessor, and our Advocate. Reconcile us to your Son. Recommend us to your Son. Bring us to your Son.

Monstra Te

Show thyself a Mother, may the Word divine born for us thine Infant, hear our prayers through thine.

Monstra te esse matrem: sumat per te preces, qui pro nobis natus, tulit esse tuus.

- From Ave Maria Stella (Hail Star of the Sea).

Prayer to St. Paul the Hermit

God, you granted that Saint Paul, our Father,
achieved sanctity in the desert,
grant through his intercession,
that we, who are striving to develop
in ourselves a spirit of prayer and service,
may come ever closer to you in love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy, Penrose Park NSW, Australia, 7 January 2023

Immaculate Queen of Peace, pray for us.