“The Peregrination of the Icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa in
Defense of Life”
The spiritual center of Poland is the Jasna Góra Monastery in
Częstochowa, and the heart of it is this icon of Mary, the Mother of God, with the Child Jesus. There are many 'black' Madonnas, this is a very famous one. This copy was blessed there, and began a peregrination (pilgrim journey) from Vladivostok on the Pacific; from there she crossed Eurasia, visiting twenty-four independent states. This icon is venerated in both the Eastern Orthodox and the Catholic Church in its Roman and Byzantine rites, although it is particularly loved by Poles. Human Life International is sponsoring the replica's travel in America.
At six p.m. Tuesday, the 22nd of October the icon arrived in the church of St. Stanislaus Cleveland with a procession. A rosary service was held with some Knights of Columbus as an honor guard.
Procession before Mass
St. Stanislaus is Cleveland's co-cathedral (and almost no one knows about this). It is a visually and physically impressive building. With grand ceremony, in a filled church there is a sense of solemn grandeur.
organist, liturgical director David Krakowski
What you do not see, is the shot i missed. Immediately before, the percussionist in the balcony was dramatically drumming both tympani, and the boy in blue was slowly vibrating both his uplifted fists. The woman, to his right, instantly ended that, and this is the moment after.
After Mass people lined up to have a quiet moment before the icon. Through the night, and the small hours of the morning people occupied the church, until the daytime's Mass. After that, the icon is travelling to several places in Pennsylvania. A return to the area will be at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Lorain on November 2nd.
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Postscriptum: well after Mass, there were over two hundred people, maybe three, in the church. A friend of mine, went to the narthex and began calling the four local television news stations. He told them the story of the visit, and that people will be in vigil in the church the whole night through. All the stations have morning programmes. The channels have between two and an half, to four and an half hours of morning news to fill, and then noon programmes, and late afternoon programmes. One of the television stations told him directly that they can not come and film without the diocese's permission. It would not surprise anyone that IF this is true, for the local bishop wishes to control the reporting of news. He has been embarrassed too many times, often by his own hand.
I was at St. Stanislaus Cleveland. It was the farewell Mass for the Franciscans. Assumption BVM Province of Franklin Wisconsin was leaving. Their Provincial Vicar, Fr. James Gannon presided over Liturgy. There was no mention of Lennon's name. They were the second province of Franciscans that served that community. The first came more than an hundred years ago. Supposedly, in the mouths of some, there is a dearth of clergy in Catholic Cleveland. In the last handful of years, more and more non-diocesan clergy have left [or made to leave] Cleveland, and there has been no concurrent welcoming of others.
I have photographed this stained glass window before. It is not a sparse scene. There are many figures, and details. There are two dogs in the lower right of the cartouche. The grey talbot is in the hunt. The brown hound is in consideration. He seems either a witness, or a judge. A dog is the symbol for fidelity. A most ancient, traditional name for him is 'Fido'.
A window in the church of St. Stanislaus, Cleveland, Ohio has a window of the icon. Many Polish churches do. This window has several scenes depicting the history of the icon.
Legend has St. Luke the Apostle (and painter) painting the icon on the cedar table top of the Holy Family. It is a Byzantine icon, Hodegetria (One Who Shows the Way). One scene blends into another. Right below the table is a particularly gruesome Hussite marauder. In his left hand he carries off ecclesial booty [now the window is episcopal..eh..ecclesial booty], and in the right he carrier a war axe, which has a skull and crossbones inscribed upon it.
The Duke of Opole (in Polish Silesia), Władysław Opolczyk, brought the icon to Częstochowa in 1382 and gave it to Jasna Góra Pauline Monastery, which became Poland's premier shrine.
Its most storied moment was the incidence when the icon received facial scars. Hussites raided and pillaged the Pauline monastery in 1430 during a frequent Spanilé jízdy ('graceful ride'). The Hussites were Bohemian Czechs of two parties, the more extreme were the Taborites. The Hussite Wars ran from 1419 to 1434, with many Hussite victories against Germans, and papal loyalists. Much of east central Europe became involved. A frequent event was iconoclasm, and the destruction of monasteries. In March of 1430 Joan of Arc wrote an angry letter to the Hussites condemning their actions. A soldier stabbed the image at Jasna Góra twice, and he was dramatically prevented a third strike. Several attempts were made to 'repair' the icon, the scars reappeared. The icon was in encaustic (pigment suspended in beeswax), and not familiar to the artisans of the area.
King John II Casimir Vasa (he had been a Jesuit and a cardinal) crowned Our Lady of Częstochowa, as Queen of Poland in 1656. This was after the Swedes had occupied the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Deluge (Potok). The Siege of Jasna Góra (November 1655 to January 1656) held back the Swedes, and sparked a successful resistance.
