In June 1999, Pope St. John Paul II visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń, run by the Marian Fathers, and prayed before the icon.
Devotion to Mary is a great source of strength and joy for all Marians and Marian Helpers. Our Lady of Licheń’s call for penance and conversion is best responded to with prayer and the Sacraments, especially the Rosary, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the Eucharist.
By Br. David, MIC
The feast of Our Lady of Licheń is celebrated on July 2. Licheń is the second most frequently visited Marian shrine in Poland, after Czestochowa. The basilica and shrine, run by the Marian Fathers and opened in 2004, is the largest in Poland, seventh largest in Europe, and 11th in the world. Approximately 1.5 million pilgrims visit the Licheń Shrine annually.
The Image of Our Lady of Licheń (above) is also called the Sorrowful Mother of Poland. Mary’s face on the icon appears sad and is a reminder of our Lord's Passion. The eagle on her robe is the symbol of the nation of Poland.
Marian apparition
The origin of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under this title dates back to the early 19th century. In October 1813, Our Lady appeared to a seriously injured Polish soldier, Tomasz Kłossowski, following the Battle of Nations near Leipzig, Saxony, that defeated the forces of Napoleon.
The wounded soldier was in the midst of fervent prayer when he saw an apparition of Mary moving around the battlefield. She was wearing a deep reddish-purple robe and cradling a white eagle to her bosom. The Virgin Mary promised Kłossowski that he would live. She instructed him to find and venerate an image of her that looked like her appearance.
Kłossowski survived and spent the next 23 years visiting churches throughout Poland, searching for the image of Mary as she appeared to him near Leipzig. In 1836, while returning from a pilgrimage to Częstochowa, Kłossowski encountered a group of pilgrims praying in front of a small image of the Virgin Mary in a wooden chapel in the village of Lgota Wielka. The image was similar to the vision of Mary as she appeared to him near Leipzig.
Kłossowski was given the icon and brought it home where he was especially devoted to it. The Virgin Mary appeared to Kłossowski again and asked him to move her image to a public place. It was relocated to a wooden chapel in the forest at Grablin, which is next to Licheń.
Another visionary
In 1850, Our Lady appeared to a shepherd named Mikołaj Sikatka who often prayed the Rosary before the icon. She appeared to him with a Rosary in her hand and a crowned eagle held to her chest. She called on people to pray the Rosary to avoid war, disease, and chastisement. She asked for penance, prayer, and conversion.
Mary came to Sikatka on three occasions and assured him that she would take care of Poland in the most difficult times. She promised to always be Queen of Poland.
In 1852, a cholera epidemic broke out. Local residents gathered around the image of Our Lady for prayer. In gratitude for healing when the plague receded, the people moved the image to the local parish church of St. Dorothy in Licheń.
Marian Fathers
The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception came to Licheń in 1949 and rebuilt the parish church.
In 1967, the miraculous image of Our Lady of Licheń was crowned with a papal crown by Primate Stefan Wyszyński. Construction of the new basilica began in 1994.
The basilica was visited and blessed by Pope St. John Paul II in June 1999 while it was still under construction. The pope described being in awe of the massive structure and called the shrine “a sign of faith and love towards Mary and her Son.”
The basilica (above) was consecrated in 2004. In Sept. 2007, the Founder of the Marian Fathers, St. Stanislaus Papczyński, was beatified at the shrine.
The largest church in Poland, the basilica has a tower that is 464 feet tall and a massive dome 321 feet high.
Spread devotion to Our Lady
With a particular love, the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception are called to spread devotion to Our Lady. We practice and recommend acts of entrustment or consecration, Mass in her honor, litanies and novenas, as well as veneration of her images. Devotion to Mary is a great source of strength and joy for all Marians and Marian Helpers.
Our Lady of Licheń’s call for penance and conversion is best responded to with prayer and the Sacraments, especially the Rosary, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the Eucharist.
Our Lady of Licheń, pray for us!
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