Our Lady of Częstochowa

Considered a miraculous image of Our Lady of Częstochowa, it is an icon representing Mary with the Child in the type of hodegetria. The painting is under the care of the Pauline Fathers in the Marian shrine at Jasna Góra. Believers of the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church hold a special cult. It is one of the most recognizable Marian images in the world.

The image of the Mother of God was painted in the 14th century by an unknown artist using the tempera technique. From the 18th century (according to other sources from the 17th century), the picture is regularly decorated with rich dresses. Today there are as many as 9 of them, the oldest dating back to the 17th century. Actually, from the sixteenth century, the painting is also crowned - initially by the faithful and kings, and later also by popes. Mary of Częstochowa is entitled Our Lady, Queen of Poland.

According to old legends, the painting was supposed to be painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. However, this was not confirmed by the canvas studies. In the chronicle of Jan Długosz there is also an account of the destruction of the image by the Hussites during the attack on the monastery in 1430. It was then that scars were to form on Mary's face.