Our Lady of Częstochowa, often called the Black Madonna, is an ancient icon of Mary holding the Child Jesus, kept since 1382 in the monastery of Jasna Góra (“Bright Mountain”) in Częstochowa, Poland. For more than six centuries it has been the heart of Polish Catholicism: Poles honor Mary under this image as their Queen, and millions of pilgrims visit the shrine every year. Her feast is August 26, and the solemnity of Mary, Queen of Poland, is kept on May 3. Below are the story of the icon, its scars and its role in Polish history, and a prayer to Our Lady of Częstochowa.
The icon of Jasna Góra
The icon shows Mary, dark-skinned and solemn, holding the Child Jesus on her left arm and pointing to him with her right hand, the type of image called Hodegetria, “she who shows the way.” The Child holds a book of the Gospels and raises his hand in blessing. Centuries of candle smoke and the age of the pigments have darkened the faces, which is why it is called the Black Madonna.
A pious legend says St. Luke painted it on a tabletop made by St. Joseph in the house of Nazareth. Art historians date the present painting to the Byzantine tradition of the Middle Ages, repainted after damage in the fifteenth century. In 1382 Prince Władysław of Opole brought the icon to the new monastery of the Pauline Fathers at Jasna Góra, who still care for it today.
The scars on Mary’s cheek
In 1430 Hussite raiders plundered the monastery and slashed the icon with a sword, leaving two parallel cuts and a crossing scar on Mary’s right cheek. When the image was restored, the painters kept the scars, and they have become part of its identity: the Mother who shares the wounds of her people.
Queen of Poland
In 1655, during the Swedish invasion known as “the Deluge,” a small garrison and the Pauline monks at Jasna Góra held out against a siege of more than a month. The Poles credited Mary’s protection, and the defense became a turning point of the war. In 1656 King John II Casimir solemnly placed the kingdom under Mary’s protection and proclaimed her Queen of Poland. The icon was crowned with papal crowns in 1717.
Through partitions, occupation and communist rule, Jasna Góra remained a symbol of Polish faith and freedom. Every August pilgrims walk there for days from Warsaw and other cities, a tradition kept since the early eighteenth century.
St. John Paul II and the Black Madonna
Pope St. John Paul II, who grew up in nearby Kraków, made pilgrimages to Jasna Góra throughout his life and as pope, and entrusted his pontificate to Mary with the words Totus Tuus, “totally yours.” After the attempt on his life in 1981, he gave the bloodstained sash he had been wearing to the shrine in thanksgiving. See the St. John Paul II prayer.
In the United States, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, draws pilgrims especially among Polish Americans.
A prayer to Our Lady of Częstochowa
Written for this page:
Holy Mother of Częstochowa, Queen of Poland and Mother of the Church,
you bear on your face the wounds of your children’s sufferings
and you point always to your Son, the Way.
Watch over every family and every nation that is threatened or divided.
Strengthen the faith of those who are persecuted, and bring home those who have wandered.
Show us Jesus, and keep us faithful to him until the end. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
When is the feast of Our Lady of Częstochowa?
August 26. In Poland it is a solemnity. Mary is also honored as Queen of Poland on May 3.
Why is she called the Black Madonna?
Because the faces of Mary and the Child have darkened over the centuries, from the age of the paint and the smoke of countless candles and lamps.
Why does the icon have scars?
Hussite raiders slashed it with a sword in 1430. The scars were preserved when the icon was restored.
Where is the Black Madonna of Częstochowa?
In the Chapel of the Miraculous Image at the Pauline monastery of Jasna Góra in Częstochowa, in southern Poland.