Poland
Holy sites in Poland.
Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń (Holy Mother of Sorrows, Queen of Poland)
According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared in Licheń, Poland to Tomasz Klossowski, a wounded soldier, in 1813 who was healed and discovered a miraculous portrait of Our Lady. She then appeared to a poor shepherd, Mikolaj Sikatka, in 1850 who promoted her devotion. She foretold of a cholera epidemic and interceded for the healing of many who sought her help.
Basilica of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Our Lady of Lezajsk, Lady of Consolation)
In 1578, a pious woodcutter named Tomasz Michałek saw a bright light in the forest. The Virgin asked him to alert the authorities to build a church. Thomas, scared, did nothing. The Virgin appeared again, asking him to take action and ending his silence. Thomas approached the authorities but was not believed. Under a subsequent priest, a small chapel was built, then a larger shrine in 1606. Today the shrine is part of a larger Bernardine monastery, and contains the image of Our Lady of Consolation.
Jasna Gora Monastery (Our Lady of Czestochowa)
The Monastery of Jasna Gora 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 a pillar of Polish Catholicism.
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Gietrzwałd
In 1877, Our Lady appeared to Justyna Szafrynska (13) just before receiving her First Holy Communion. The next day, Barbara Samulowska (12) also saw the "Bright Lady" sitting on the throne with Infant Christ among angels. The Blessed Mother's ask of the girls was for them to pray the rosary daily.
Sanctuary of Our Lady Queen of Podhale
This church was originally founded in the 13th century by Cistercians from France. According to legend, around the year 1400, a merchant lost in the nearby swamps was led to the church by a figure he discerned to be Mary. Out of gratitude, he commissioned a statue which can be found in the church today. A regular visitor to the shrine was Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope St. John Paul II. In August 1963, in his capacity as Archbishop of Kraków, the statue slipped during a ceremony and the future pontiff caught the scepter which had fallen out of the statue's grasp. This scene was interpreted by many as a prophecy of his upcoming papacy.
Swieta Lipka Sanctuary
In the 13th century, Our Blessed Mother appeared to a condemned innocent person in his prison cell. Bringing him a piece of wood and a knife, she told him to carve an image of the Blessed Mother with Child. When he had done so, the jailers and judge were so moved they gave him back his freedom. In gratitude for the divine assistance, the man sought to place the sculpture near a linden tree along the road, as Mary had suggested. The present-day basilica was built next to this great linden tree, which was the site of many miracles and healings over the centuries. With the Prussian occupation of Poland, the sanctuary was defiled and the linden tree cut down. Upon Poland's independence, Jesuits were invited to renew the sanctuary, and it remains in beautiful condition to this day.