Mercure Patria Czestochowa

This video shows the viewer our tour guide, Father Simon, as he let us into a private tour of the several centuries old monastery library at Jasna Gora.  He is explaining that the book he is paging through is a 700 year old bible translated into Polish by monks from the monastery.  We also got to sign the guest book there, and saw the guestbook with many signatures of some pretty impressive historical figures.

... by the Polish faithful.

After the tour of the shrine, we visited the museum on site, and then we went into the monastery itself on a special tour. We entered the monastery library, which was breathtaking. In it were books and works of art from centuries ago. The guest book, which we signed, was open on the library table, and we were encouraged to flip through it. I saw signatures of people I have read about in history classes over the years ...

... Slowly the gold plate rises and you can now see the painting of the Black Madonna. It seemed so very strange to hear the drum roll and trumpets (it is a recording) in a church. Maybe in a theatre before a great act or feat is to be done, to me it was different.

The painting is beautiful. There are several stories about the picture and the 2 slashes or scars on the Madonna ...

... image (various personal, military, societal miracles attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Czestechowa) has a very rich history connected directly with the history of Poland. King Sasimir crowned her the Queen of Poland. Pope John Paul II, before and after his calling to the priesthood and later being made Pope, visited and prayed before the icon. There are a few theories on why the skin of the Madonna and Child are black-- 1. A dark varnish was applied by ...

... and services run continually. Altars are staffed continually with priests reading the Gospel. Around the exterior of the complex, from on top of the walls, a priests leads worshippers on the Stations of the Cross continually. Dad sat through two serivces, all in Polish, and received communion. In between services, visitors showed their reverence for the Black Madonna by traversing a route of about 150 feet around the sanctuary of ...

What is the best way to spend a national holiday? with travelling of course. it was nothing big, just Czestochowa and Olsztyn (which is like 5 kms away from here) but still I enjoyed it a lot! My mum's friends came over to Czestochowa and as I promised I'll show them the area I ...

... The painting has two scratches across her cheek....history behind that is.... The painting was stolen in the 15th century and when the robber struck it twice it started to bleed and he was terrified of it and fled. And yes they have tried to repair it back in the day and it would keep reappearing. It really is very moving being here. People come from all over to come to pray here. When you get to the ...

... siūlymų. Pasiūlyt niekas nieko negali, nes sekmadienio vakaras ir nieko veikiančio, kas galėtų tave paremontuoti, nerasi. Visgi problemos bent jau apytikslį pobūdį įtariam, o ant laisvos pavaros akseleruojant pamatę didelius baltų dūmų kamuolius daugmaz supratom, kad čia bus bėda toje lemputėje, kuri skydelyje nuo pat kemperio ...

... aesthetically pleasing. It looked as if some work was being done, as there were piles of bricks and dirt everywhere, but even the crystal clear blue skies didn't make it any more appealing. After a huge salad for lunch we made our way up to the monastery. It was pretty impressive, with the complex surrounded by a huge brick wall, and the tallest church tower in the country casting shadows over the huge grounds where the late Pope John Paul II often gave ...

... By the time the train had gone along with our hopes that another would be along soon. Turns out that was our train. The next challenge was to get another ticket, try and get a refund for the other one, and find a new way to Kraków. Mustering all the Polish and occasionally referring to the dictionary like a chump for the word refund, all was absolutely sorted, including the refund! (Which amazed our Polish friends, since refunds were very ...