Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland
| Our Lady of Sorrows of Lichen Queen and Patroness of Poland |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | Lichen, Poland |
| Date | 1700s |
| Type | Wooden icon, bejewelled |
| Holy See approval | Pope Paul VI |
| Shrine | Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows of Lichen |
| Patronage | Poland |
Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland, Our Lady of Licheń, or Virgin of Licheń is a Roman Catholic icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by its Polish faithful. The icon was painted in 1772 and is permanently enshrined within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lichen, in central Poland, which was built to honor it, and receives about 1.5 million pilgrims per year.
Along with the , located in , southern Poland, the image is one of the two most venerated Marian images in Poland. The image was canonically crowned by Pope Paul VI on 15 August 1967.
In the central image, the Virgin Mary has a gold dress, is being crowned by two angels and is surrounded by a ring of stars. Below the image a ribbon carries the inscription: "Queen of Poland, give us days of peace." The image measures 9.5 × 15.5 cm and is on larger panel of 16 × 25 cm. There is a second crown above the image, on the larger panel.
According to legend, a Polish soldier (called Thomas Kłossowski) was wounded in the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 and had a vision of the Virgin Mary who saved him from death and instructed him to look for the image upon his return to Poland. Kłossowski is then said to have looked for and found the image in the woods in Grąblin as instructed.
According to oral tradition, in 1850 Kłossowski and shepherd Nicholas Sikatka witnessed several apparitions of the Virgin Mary who called for repentance and prayer. In the apparitions, the Virgin reportedly predicted war and a cholera epidemic, but also gave hope. During the cholera plague of 1852, the image became famous for performing miracles.
On 29 September 1852 the image was moved to the parish church in Licheń and remained there until 2006. Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, the Primate of the Millennium gave its Canonical Coronation towards the image with the approval of Pope Paul VI on 15 August 1967.
...
Wikipedia