The Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary
By St. Louis Mary De Montfort

Preface

St. Louis De Montfort, universally known for his True Devotion to Mary, embellished the Little Crown by adding to each Hail Mary a distinctive invocation in praise of the Blessed Virgin's excellence, power, and goodness, ending with the joyful strain, "Rejoice, O Virgin Mary! Rejoice a thousand times!"

St. De Montfort gave the Little Crown as a morning prayer to both his religious families, the Montfort Fathers and the Daughter of Wisdom. He heartily recommends it to all who embrace the holy and loving slavery to Jesus through Mary. Thus the world over, from the lips of Mary's favorite children the Little Crown rises like fragrant incense to our Blessed Mother's throne in Heaven and returns to earth in showers of Divine benediction. Since the Blessed Virgin is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, St. Louis prefaces the Little Crown with an invocation to the Holy Spirit.

INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
I. CROWN OF EXCELLENCE
II. CROWN OF POWER
III. CROWN OF GOODNESS
CONCLUDING PRAYER

INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
 

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle
winthin them the fire of Thy love!

V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit dost instruct the hearts of
the faithful, grant us by this same Spirit to relish what is right and
ever to rejoice in His consolation, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 I. CROWN OF EXCELLENCE

[To honor the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin, her ineffable Virginity,
her purity without stain and her innumerable virtues.]

1. Our Father, Hail Mary.
Blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary, who didst bear the
Lord, the Creator of the world; thou didst give birth to Him Who
made thee, and remainest a Virgin forever.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

2. Hail Mary.
O holy and immaculate Virgin, I know not with what
praise to extol thee, since thou didst bear in thy womb the very
One Whom the Heavens cannot contain.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

3. Hail Mary.
Thou are all fair, O Virgin Mary, and there is no stain in thee.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

4. Hail Mary.
Thy virtues, O Virgin, surpass the stars in number.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

Glory be to the Father.

II. CROWN OF POWER

[To honor the royalty of the Blessed Virgin, her magnificence, her
universal mediation and the strength of her rule.]

5.  Our Father, Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O Empress of the world! Bring us with thee to the joys of Heaven.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

6. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O treasure house of the Lord's graces! Grant us a share in thy riches.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

7. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O Mediatrix between God and man!Through thee may the Almighty be favorable to us. Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

8. Glory be to thee who destroyest heresies and crushest demons! Be thou our loving guide. Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times! Glory be to the Father.

Glory be to the Father.

III. CROWN OF GOODNESS

[To honor the mercy of the Blessed Virgin toward sinners, the poor,
the just and the dying.]

9.  Our Father, Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O refuge of sinners! Intercede for us with God.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

10. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O Mother of orphans! Render the Almighty favorable to us.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

11. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O joy of the just! Lead us with thee to the joys of Heaven.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

12. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee who are ever ready to assist us in lifeand death! Lead us with thee to the kingdom of Heaven! Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice a thousand times!

Glory be to the Father.
 

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let Us Pray.

Hail, Mary, Daughter of God the Father; Hail, Mary, Mother of God the Son; Hail, Mary, Spouse of the Holy Ghost; Hail, Mary, Temple of the most Holy Trinity; Hail, Mary, my Mistress, my treasure, my joy, Queen of my heart; my Mother, my life, my sweetness, my dearest hope ---- yea, my heart and my soul! I am all thine and all that I have is Thine, O Virgin blessed above all things! Let thy soul be in me to magnify the Lord; let thy spirit be in me to rejoice in God. Set thyself, O faithful Virgin, as a seal upon my heart, that in thee and through thee I may be found faithful to God. Receive me, O gracious Virgin, among those whom thou lovest and teachest, whom thou leadest, nourishest and protectest as thy children. Grant that for love of thee I may despise all earthly consolations and ever cling to those of Heaven until, through thee, His faithful spouse, Jesus Christ thy Son be formed in me for the glory of the Father.  Amen.

http://www.catholictradition.org/Two-Hearts/crown.htm

Cardinal Newman's poems on Mary

The Pilgrim Queen
{281} (A Song.)
THERE sat a Lady
all on the ground,
Rays of the morning
circled her round,
Save thee, and hail to thee,
Gracious and Fair,
In the chill twilight
what wouldst thou there?
"Here I sit desolate,"
sweetly said she,
"Though I'm a queen,
and my name is Marie:
Robbers have rifled
my garden and store,
Foes they have stolen
my heir from my bower. {282}
"They said they could keep Him
far better than I,
In a palace all His,
planted deep and raised high.
'Twas a palace of ice,
hard and cold as were they,
And when summer came,
it all melted away.
"Next would they barter Him,
Him the Supreme,
For the spice of the desert,
and gold of the stream;
And me they bid wander
in weeds and alone,
In this green merry land
which once was my own."
I look'd on that Lady,
and out from her eyes
Came the deep glowing blue
of Italy's skies; {283}
And she raised up her head
and she smiled, as a Queen
On the day of her crowning,
so bland and serene.
"A moment," she said,
"and the dead shall revive;
The giants are failing,
the Saints are alive;
I am coming to rescue
my home and my reign,
And Peter and Philip
are close in my train."
The Oratory. 1849.					The Queen of Seasons {287} (A Song for an inclement May.) ALL is divine               which the Highest has made, Through the days that He wrought,               till the day when He stay'd; Above and below,               within and around, From the centre of space,               to its uttermost bound. In beauty surpassing               the Universe smiled, On the morn of its birth,               like an innocent child, {288} Or like the rich bloom               of some delicate flower; And the Father rejoiced               in the work of His power. Yet worlds brighter still,               and a brighter than those, And a brighter again,               He had made, had He chose; And you never could name               that conceivable best, To exhaust the resources               the Maker possess'd. But I know of one work               of his Infinite Hand, Which special and singular               ever must stand; So perfect, so pure,               and of gifts such a store, That even Omnipotence               ne'er shall do more. {289} The freshness of May,               and the sweetness of June, And the fire of July               in its passionate noon, Munificent August,               September serene, Are together no match               for my glorious Queen. O Mary, all months               and all days are thine own, In thee lasts their joyousness,               when they are gone; And we give to thee May,               not because it is best, But because it comes first,               and is pledge of the rest. The Oratory. 1850. The Month of Mary {284} (A Song.) GREEN are the leaves, and sweet the flowers,     And rich the hues of May; We see them in the gardens round,     And market-paniers gay: And e'en among our streets, and lanes,     And alleys, we descry, By fitful gleams, the fair sunshine,     The blue transparent sky.                         Chorus. O Mother maid, be thou our aid,     Now in the opening year; Lest sights of earth to sin give birth,     And bring the tempter near. {285} Green is the grass, but wait awhile,     'Twill grow, and then will wither; The flowrets, brightly as they smile,     Shall perish altogether: The merry sun, you sure would say,     It ne'er could set in gloom; But earth's best joys have all an end,     And sin, a heavy doom.                         Chorus. But Mother maid, thou dost not fade;     With stars above thy brow, And the pale moon beneath thy feet,     For ever throned art thou. The green green grass, the glittering grove,     The heaven's majestic dome, They image forth a tenderer bower,     A more refulgent home; They tell us of that Paradise     Of everlasting rest, And that high Tree, all flowers and fruit,     The sweetest, yet the best.{286} Chorus. O Mary, pure and beautiful,     Thou art the Queen of May; Our garlands wear about thy hair,     And they will ne'er decay. The Oratory. 1850.  http://www.newmanreader.org/works/verses/verse161.html

The May magnificat - Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89)
 
The May Magnificat
 
MAY is Mary’s month, and I
Muse at that and wonder why:
    Her feasts follow reason,
    Dated due to season—
 
Candlemas, Lady Day;         5
But the Lady Month, May,
    Why fasten that upon her,
    With a feasting in her honour?
 
Is it only its being brighter
Than the most are must delight her?         10
    Is it opportunest
    And flowers finds soonest?
 
Ask of her, the mighty mother:
Her reply puts this other
    Question: What is Spring?—         15
    Growth in every thing—
 
Flesh and fleece, fur and feather,
Grass and greenworld all together;
    Star-eyed strawberry-breasted
    Throstle above her nested         20
 
Cluster of bugle blue eggs thin
Forms and warms the life within;
    And bird and blossom swell
    In sod or sheath or shell.
 
All things rising, all things sizing         25
Mary sees, sympathising
    With that world of good,
    Nature’s motherhood.
 
Their magnifying of each its kind
With delight calls to mind         30
    How she did in her stored
    Magnify the Lord.
 
Well but there was more than this:
Spring’s universal bliss
    Much, had much to say         35
    To offering Mary May.
 
When drop-of-blood-and-foam-dapple
Bloom lights the orchard-apple
    And thicket and thorp are merry
    With silver-surfèd cherry         40
 
And azuring-over greybell makes
Wood banks and brakes wash wet like lakes
    And magic cuckoocall
    Caps, clears, and clinches all—
 
This ecstasy all through mothering earth         45
Tells Mary her mirth till Christ’s birth
    To remember and exultation
    In God who was her salvation.

---

Rosa Mystica - A Poem by Hopkins

Rosa Mystica (Hopkins)

by Gerard Hopkins, S.J.

"The rose is a mystery"--where is it found?
Is it anything true? Does it grow upon the ground?
It was made of earth's mould, but it went from men's eyes,
And its place is a secret and shut in the skies.

In the gardens of God, in the daylight divine,

Find me a place by thee, mother of mine.

But where was it formerly? Which is the spot
That was blest in it once, though now it is not?
It is Galilee's growth: it grew at God's will
And broke into bloom upon Nazareth hill.

In the gardens of God, in the daylight divine,

I shall look on thy loveliness, mother of mine.

What was its season then? How long ago?
When was the summer that saw the bud blow?
Two thousands of years are near upon past
Since its birth and its bloom and its breathing its last.

In the gardens of God, in the daylight divine,

I shall keep time with thee, mother of mine.

Tell me the name now, tell me its name.
The heart guesses easily: is it the same?
Mary the Virgin, well the heart knows,
She is the mystery, she is that rose.

In the gardens of God, in the daylight divine,

I shall come home to thee, mother of mine.

Is Mary the rose then? Mary, the tree?
But the blossom, the blossom there--who can it be?
Who can her rose be? It could but be One
Christ Jesus our Lord, her God and her son.

In the gardens of God, in the daylight divine,

Show me thy son, mother, mother of mine.

What was the colour of that blossom bright?--
White to begin with, immaculate white.
But what a wild flush on the flakes of it stood
When the rose ran in crimsonings down the cross-wood!

In the gardens of God, in the daylight divine

I shall worship His wounds with thee, mother of mine.

How many leaves had it?--Five they were then,
Five, like the senses and members of men;
Five is their number by nature, but now
They multiply, multiply--who can tell how?

In the gardens of God, in the daylight divine

Make me a leaf in thee, mother of mine.

Does it smell sweet, too, in that holy place?
Sweet unto God and the sweetness is grace:
The breath of it bathes great heaven above
In grace that is charity, grace that is love.

To thy breast, to thy rest, to thy glory divine

Draw me by charity, mother of mine.

From Carmina Mariana (Published by Burns and Oates, Limited in

Mother of Good Counsel

" Our Lady of Good Counsel of Genazzano "

Feast day : April 26http://www.christusrex.org/www1/apparitions/pr00003.htm

Legend has it that on the Feast of St. Mark, 1467, during a festival in Genazzano, Italy, a cloud descended upon an ancient 5th century deteriorated church dedicated to Our Mother of Good Counsel. When the cloud disappeared, the festive crowd found a small, fragile picture of Our Lady with Her Child on a paper - thin sheet of plaster; the painting stood without support, floating, on a small ledge.

The church was restored and the painting was placed in it. The painting is believed to have been recovered from Scutari, Albania.

Much of the church was destroyed in World War II, but the picture remained intact and in place.

Many pilgrims visit the church in Genazzano, and many take part in the annual spring procession of spectacular beauty. The miraculous image is still, to this day, and has been for more than 500 years, suspended in the air by itself. Countless miracles have been attributed to the prayerful intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel. 
Such was the holy image's reputation that Pope Urban VIII made a "glittering" pilgrimage there in 1630, invoking the protection of the Queen of Heaven, as did Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1864. On November 17, 1682, Blessed Pope Innocent XI had the picture solemnly crowned. Among her noted clients have been St Aloysius Gonzaga, St Alphonsus Liguori, St John Bosco, and Blessed Stephen Bellesini.
In 1753 pope Benedict XIV established the Pious Union of Our Lady of Good Counsel. More than any other pope, Leo XIII, who was himself a member of the pious union, was deeply attached to this devotion.^[2] The small Scapular of Our Lady of Good Counsel (the White Scapular) was presented by the Hermits of St. Augustine to Pope Leo XIII, who, in December 1893, approved it and endowed it with indulgences. On April 22, 1903, that same Pope included the invocation "Mater boni consilii" in the Litany of Loreto. In 1939 Pope Pius XII placed his pontificate under the maternal care of Our Lady of Good Counsel and composed a prayer to her.^{[3][4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Good_Counsel}

                           PRAYER
O Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led by our anxious uncertainty in our search for and attainment of what is true and good, invoking you by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel, we beseech you to come to our assistance, when, along the road of this life, the darkness of error and of evil conspires towards our ruin by leading our minds and our hearts astray. O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, enlighten the doubtful and the erring, that they be not seduced by the false appearances of good; render them steadfast in the face of the hostile and corrupting influences of passion and of sin. O Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from your Divine Son a great love of virtue, and, in the hour of uncertainty and trial, the strength to embrace the way that leads to our salvation. If your hand sustains us, we shall walk unmolested along the path indicated to us by the life and words of Jesus, our Redeemer; and having followed freely and securely, even in the midst of this world's strife, the Sun of Truth and Justice under your maternal Star, we shall come to the enjoyment of full and eternal peace with you in the haven of salvation. Amen.
 Another version

Holy Virgin, moved by the painful uncertainty we experience in seeking and aquiring the true and the good, we cast ourselves at thy feet and invoke thee under the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel. We beseech thee: come to our aid at this moment in our worldly sojourn when the twin darknesses or error and of evil that plots our ruin by leading minds and hearts astray.

Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, enlighten the victims of doubt and of error so that they may not be seduced by evil masquerading as good; strengthen them against the hostile and corrupting forces of passion and of sin.

Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from thy Divine Son the love of virtue and the strength to choose, in doubtful and difficult situations, the course agreeable to our salvation. Supported by thy hand we shall thus journey without harm along the paths taught us by the word and example of Jesus our Savior, following the Sun of Truth and Justice in freedom and safety across the battlefield of life under the guidance of thy maternal Star, until we come at length to the harbor of salvation to enjoy with thee unalloyed and everlasting peace.

Pope Pius XII

23 January 1953

Prayer to Mary Mother of Good Counsel

We turn to you, our Mother of Good Counsel
as we seek to imitate your faith filled life.
May we be lead by the same Wisdom
which God sent forth from heaven to guide you
along unfamiliar paths and
through challenging decisions.
Intercede for us with your Son
as we go forward joyful in hope,
seeking to be united in mind and heart
on our way to God.
O Virgin of Good Counsel
hear our prayer as we look for guidance,
Pray for us to our loving and merciful Father,
to your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ,
and to the Holy Spirit,
giver of all Wisdom,
one God forever and ever. 
http://augustinianslimerick.com/Spirituality/Shrine%20-%20Mother%20of%20Good%20Counsel.htmlWe note the 'good counsel' of Mary in several scenes of the Gospel, especially that of Cana, when the mother of Jesus says, "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn. 2, 5). Saint Augustine reminds us that while Mary is blessed for being the mother of Jesus, she is even more blessed for being his disciple. In fact, as the first disciple of her son she presents him to us as our teacher, our way, our truth and our life - even as he was for her.

The Rosary - Promise of Signal Graces

Remember - there is no such thing as a coincidence, everything happens for a reason! By praying the rosary you will be more conscious of the way that God tries to help you and speak to you every day.
    The Fifteen Promises of Mary to those who pray the Rosary

God has given us such a precious gift in Our Blessed Mother and the most holy Rosary!  Next to the holy sacrifice of the Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary is the most powerful prayer that exists on this earth.  The church even grants a plenary indulgence to those who pray the Rosary in the presence of the Eucharist.  Following are the 15 promises Our Lady has made to those who pray her Rosary.

1. To all those who pray the Rosary devoutly, she promises her special protection and very great graces.

2. Those who persevere in the praying of the Rosary will receive some signal grace.

3. The Rosary will be very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin, and dispel heresy.

4. The Rosary will make virtue and good works flourish, and will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies; it will substitute in hearts love of God for love of the world, and elevate them to desire heavenly and eternal good.  O, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!

5. Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary will not perish.

6. Those who pray my Rosary piously, meditating on these mysteries, will not be overwhelmed by misfortune, nor die a bad death.  The sinner will be converted; the just will grow in grace and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Those truly devoted to my Rosary will not die without the consolations of the church, or without grace.

8. Those who shall recite my Rosary will find during their life and at their death the light of God, the fullness of his grace, and will share in the merits of the blessed.

9. I will deliver very promptly from Purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary.

10. The true children of my Rosary will enjoy great glory in heaven.

11. What you ask through my Rosary you shall obtain.

12. Those who propagate my Rosary will obtain through me aid in all their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Son that all confreres of the Rosary shall have their brethren in life and death the saints in heaven.

14. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are all my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

    "Your rosary is a stairway, and you climb it together, step by step, towards an encounter with the Blessed Virgin--which means an encounter with Jesus" (Pope Paul VI).

"These mysteries--which present themselves as scenes, pictures and stories, one after another--lead you to an intellectual vision of the facts of the life of Jesus and Mary recorded in the mysteries, and to an understanding of the most sublime truths of our religion; the Incarnation of the Lord, the Redemption, and the Christian life, present and future"
(Pope Paul VI).
What is a Signal Grace?
Signal Graces are signs sent by God to help us make the right decisions in life. Moses saw a burning bush as a sign from God, and other people received signs from God daily. Signal graces usually come about as subtle hints to help keep us moving in the right direction - these signs are truly gifts from God.

Signal graces are the unique graces promised to us by the Bl. Mother when we faithfully recite the Rosary.  They are the “signs” given to us after we’ve prayed for something; signs that indicate that our prayer was heard.  The word “signal” in this case refers to special, beyond the ordinary.  These graces are different than what God already gives us on a daily basis.

Our Lady of Częstochowa

.

........The icon shows a serious Mary holding the infant Jesus on her left arm and gesturing towards him with her right hand. The Virgin's gaze is intense —pilgrims are moved by the way she seems to look right at them........

The Monastery of Jasna Góra in Częstochowa, Poland, is the third-largest Catholic pilgrimage site in the world. Home to the beloved miraculous icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa, the monastery is also the national shrine of Poland and the center of Polish Catholicism.

History

According to tradition, the icon of Jasna Góra was painted by Luke the Evangelist on a tabletop built by Jesus himself, and the icon was discovered by St. Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine and collector of Christian relics in the Holy Land. The icon was then enshrined in the imperial city of Constantinople, according to the legend, where it remained for the next 500 years.

Icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa.

In 803, the painting is said to have been given as a wedding gift from the Byzantine emperor to a Greek princess, who married a Ruthenian nobleman. The image was then placed in the royal palace at Belz, where it remained for nearly 600 years.
History first combines with tradition upon the icon's arrival in Poland in 1382 with a Polish army fleeing the Tartars, who had struck it with an arrow.
Legend has it that during the looting of Belz, a mysterious cloud enveloped the chapel containing the image. A monastery was founded in Częstochowa to enshrine the icon in 1386, and soon King Jagiello built a cathedral around the chapel containing the icon.
However, the image soon came under attack once again. In 1430, Hussites (pre-Reformation reformers) attacked the monastery, slashed the Virgin's face with a sword, and left it desecrated in a puddle of blood and mud.
It is said that when the monks pulled the icon from the mud, a miraculous fountain appeared, which they used to clean the painting. The icon was repainted in Krakow, but both the arrow mark and the gashes from the sword were left and remain clearly visible today.
The miracle for which the Black Madonna of Częstochowa is most famous occurred in 1655, when Swedish troops were about to invade Częstochowa. A group of Polish soldiers prayed fervently before the icon for deliverance, and the enemy retreated. In 1656, King John Casimir declared Our Lady of Częstochowa "Queen of Poland" and made the city the spiritual capital of the nation.
The Virgin again came to the aid of her people in 1920, when the Soviet Russian Red Army gathered on the banks of the Vistula River, preparing to attack Warsaw. The citizens and soldiers fervently prayed to Our Lady of Częstochowa, and on September 15, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, she appeared in the clouds above Warsaw. The Russians were defeated in a series of battles later dubbed the "Miracle at the Vistula."
During Nazi occupation, Hilter prohibited pilgrimages to Jasna Góra, but many still secretly made the journey. In 1945, after Poland was liberated, half a million pilgrims journeyed to Częstochowa to express their gratitude. On September 8, 1946, 1.5 million people gathered at the shrine to rededicate the entire nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. During the Cold War, Jasna Góra was a center of anti-Communist resistance.
Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, was a fervent devotee of the Virgin Mary and of her icon at Częstochowa. As pope, he made pilgrimages to pray before the Black Madonna in 1979, 1983, 1991, and 1997. In 1991, he held his Sixth World Youth Day at Czetochowa, which was attended by 350,000 young people from across Europe.
Other popes have honored the "Queen of Poland" as well. Pope Clement XI officially recognized the miraculous nature of the image in 1717 and in 1925 Pope Pius XI designated May 3 a feast day in her honor. Pope Benedict XVI visited the shrine on May 26, 2006.

What to See

The large baroque monastery of Jasna Góra dominates a hilltop in Częstochowa and is always bustling with pilgrims and worshippers. As pilgrims approach the monastery, the most striking sight is the 106-meter belltower, reconstructed in 1906 (the bottom part dates from 1714).
The second level contains four clocks, one on each side, that mark the passage of each 15 minutes with Marian melodies. Inside the third level are statues of St. Paul the Hermit, St. Florian, St. Casimir and the Saint-Queen Hedvig; the fifth level has statues of the church fathers St. Leo the Great, St. Gregory, St. Augustine and St. Ambrose.
The focus of pilgrims to Jasna Góra is not the monastery, but the icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa, which is displayed in a altar in the Chapel of the Black Madonna. The icon shows a serious Mary holding the infant Jesus on her left arm and gesturing towards him with her right hand. The Virgin's gaze is intense —pilgrims are moved by the way she seems to look right at them.

The Virgin's robe and mantle are decorated with lilies, the symbol of the Hungarian royal family. The infant Jesus is dressed in a red tunic and holds a Bible in his left hand and makes a gesture of blessing with his right. The Virgin and Child are dressed in bejeweled velvet robes and gold crowns for special occasions.

The image has been placed in a gold frame decorated with hundreds of precious jewels, and stands on an altar of ebony and silver donated by the Grand Chancellor George Ossoliński in 1650.

The altar with the icon is separated from the rest of the Chapel of the Black Madonna with a floor-to-ceiling iron screen. The large Gothic chapel includes five other altars, the most notable of which is the Altar of the Crucifix, to the right of the icon. Its cross dates from 1400. The walls of the chapel are full of ex-votos left by grateful pilgrims.
Attached to the Chapel of the Black Madonna is the baroque basilica, named the Church of the Holy Cross and Nativity of Mary. Rebuilt between 1692 and 1695, it has three aisles and ceilings decorated with accounts of the miracles of Our Lady of Częstochowa. The main altar was designed by the Italian artist Giacomo Antonio Buzzini between 1725 and 1728.
The monastery's treasury is a rich storehouse of votive offerings given to the Black Madonna over the centuries, from the 14th century to the present. Gifts range from swords and scepters to rosaries made of dried bread in concentration camps.
Kings, queens and popes have donated a vast array of precious objects, such as King Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki and the Archduchess Eleanor of Austria on the occasion of their wedding in Jasna Góra in 1670. Also donated to the Virgin are tear-gas cylinders used by the Communists against Solidarity protestors in the 1980s, and the Nobel Peace Prize won by Lech Walesa in 1983.
There is also a richly decorated library housing precious manuscripts. Since 1920, the library has hosted the meetings of the Polish Episcopal Conference.
Around the perimeter of the basilica, where the moat once was, are the 14 Stations of the Cross represented by bronze statues sculpted by Pius Weloński in 1913. Nearly every pilgrim group prays at the Stations of the Cross; some move from one station to the next on their knees.

Pilgrimages and Festivals

Every day, from early in the morning to late in the evening, a stready stream of pilgrims approaches the shrine of Częstochowa via the tree-lined main avenue. The groups leave a few hundred feet in between them, so as not to disturb the others as they pray the rosary and sing hymns. Young men carry batteries and speakers to lead the singing.
Pilgrims wear badges with the name of their town and a number showing how many times they have come on pilgrimage to Częstochowa — many have come every year for decades. After venerating the icon in the Chapel of the Black Madonna, pilgrims usually pin their badges to the walls as a votive offering.
As the national shrine of Poland, Częstochowa attracts delegations from all walks of life. Government leaders visit regularly; and students, veterans, miners, actors, former Stalinist prisoners, and factory workers arrive on organized pilgrimages.
The preferred days to make the pilgrimage to Częstochowa are Marian feast days, especially the Feast of the Assumption on August 15. On this day, up to 500,000 people crowd the city. Since 1711, a pilgrimage has left Warsaw and 32 other towns and walked in procession to Częstochowa for up to 21 days.
Four other national pilgrimage days bring throngs of visitors: the Feast of Mary, Queen of Poland (May 3); the Feast of Our Lady of Częstochowa (August 26); the Feast of the Nativity of Mary (September 8); and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8).

Getting There

Częstochowa is located in south central Poland and is easily accessible from major cities. There are about six daily fast trains from Warsaw and Krakow, hourly departures from Katowice, and several daily trains from Lodz, Opole and Wroclaw. From the train station, you can take a bus or taxi to the shrine. By car from Krakow, take 4/E40 west to Katowice, and 1/E75 north to Częstochowa; from Warsaw, take 8/E67 then 1/E75 south to Częstochowa.