St. Mary's Visitation Parish, Dickson City, PA
Our Lady of Czêstochowa

This painting on the wall near the Blessed Virgin Mary Altar is a rendition of the famous icon of Our Lady of Czêstochowa, revered as a spiritual trasure of Poland. According to legend it was painted by St. Luke while Mary told him about Jesus' boyhood. It was kept in Constantinople for 500 years of the Byzantine Empire's existence, but passed via doweries into several noble families in Russia, and, finally, Poland. In 1382 St. £adis³as moved the icon to its current location, a monastery run by Pauline Fathers on Jasna Góra (Bright Hill) in Czêstochowa, a town in southern Poland. Many miracles are ascribed to its presence, including protection from invasions, protection from plagues, and individuals' healings. In 1655, a Swedish army of 3,000 attempted to storm the monastery, which was being guarded by only 300 Poles. The three thousand were turned back. In 1920 an invading army of Russians turned aside from entering Czêstochowa after seeing the icon appear in the clouds above the town as a warning. The appearance was attributed to Poles' prayers to "Our Lady of Czêstochowa." The icon was recognized as miraculous by Pope Clement XI in 1717.

The icon is sometimes referred to as "the Black Madonna" because of its dark coloration caused by centuries of soot from devotional candles. For protection as well as for veneration, the icon is usually only displayed with a decorated cover that only shows the original painting's portrayal of Mary's and Christ's faces and hands. This painting shows one of the commonly used covers. For comparison, here is the uncovered original.

The two slashes on Mary's face are said to have come from a Hussite's sword as he attempted to destroy the icon in 1430. He is said to have been stricken dead before he could raise his sword a third time. An alternative legend regarding the slashes involves one of the many times the icon was hidden when invaders threatened in the 1300's and 1400's. The icon was buried in a field, and its location was lost. A year later, a farmer was plowing the field with his ox, when the plow ran into the painting in its protective box. The plow pressed against the painting where the slashes are, but the ox miraculously stopped as soon as the plow made contact with the painting. The farmer saw the box in the ground, and dug the icon back up.

This painting, together with the rose window set near to it (with the polish shield and the depictions of St. Casimir and St. Stanislaus, two national Polish saints) and the Blessed Virgin Mary Altar, forms a single memorial to Poland in the church. This link will take you out of the parish website to the website maintained by the Pauline Fathers at Jasna Góra, where you can see and learn much more about this icon and its monastery.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help

This painting on the church wall near the Sacred Heart Altar depicts the Byzantine icon entitled "Our Lady of Perpetual Help." According to the legend behind the icon, the archangels Gabriel and Michael visited Jesus when he was a little boy to show Him the means by which He would die in order to save mankind. Frightened by the cross, lance, and nails, He ran to Mary for comfort, almost losing His left sandal. The icon shows Mary reassuring him.