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 80th Birthday of Pope John Paul II (2000) Scott 1153: Pope John Paul II Scott 1154: Black Madonna of Częstochowa Scott 1155: Silver Staff of Pope John Paul II On May 9, 2000, Vatican City issued a three-stamp set celebrating the 80th birthday of Pope John Paul II. The three stamps shown above were issued jointly with Poland. The Pope has been covered extensively in our Daily E-Mails and other articles, so today we will focus on the second stamp in the set, which illustrates the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, also known as Our Lady of Częstochowa. In addition to the stamp above, The Black Madonna was also depicted on three Vatican City stamps, presented at the bottom of this article. Issued in 1956 (Scott 216-218), this set celebrated the 300th anniversary of her declaration as the Queen of Poland. The Black Madonna is a venerated icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary housed at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland. Believed to be well over 1000 years old, and perhaps dating back almost 2000 years, the painting shows the Blessed Virgin Mary in the traditional iconic pose know as The Hodegetria, where Mary directs attention away from herself by gesturing with her right hand toward the baby Jesus, who in turn extends His right hand toward the viewer in blessing while holding a book of gospels in his left hand. The exact date of the painting’s composition is unknown. In 1430, the icon was severely damaged by vandals. During the process of repairing the image, the restorers erased the original image and repainted it on the original panel, creating problems with determining the exact history of the icon. The history of Our Lady of Częstochowa has been intimately tied to Poland for the past 600 years. Prior to its arrival in Poland, its history is shrouded in mystery. One legend traces its origin to Luke the Evangelist, who is said to have painted it on a cedar tabletop. The same legend holds that the painting was discovered in Jerusalem in 326 by Saint Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine the Great. She reportedly brought the icon to Constantinople and presented it to her son. Alternatively, art historians say that the original painting was a Byzantine icon created around the sixth or ninth century. All agree that Prince Władysław, an advisor to the King of Poland, brought the icon to the Jasna Góra monastery in the 14th century. Our Lady was declared the Queen and Protector of Poland when it is said she miraculously saved the monastery of Jasna Góra from a Swedish invasion during the winter of 1655. During the siege and attempted invasion of the monastery, 70 monks and 180 local volunteers held off 4,000 Swedes for 40 days, and saved their sacred icon. Their actions reportedly changed the course of the war. On April 1, 1656, King John II Casimir Vasa proclaimed Our Lady as the Queen of Poland. Before this event, several royal nobilities replaced the iron sheet crown of the icon with one in gold with several jewels. In 1717, Pope Clement XI issued a Pontifical decree of canonical coronation to the image. Over the years, several pontiffs have recognized the image. In 1910, Pope Pius X gifted the icon a crown to replace the original (which had been stolen). Pope John Paul II (1978), Pope Benedict XVI (2006) and Pope Francis (2016) all presented Our Lady golden roses as tokens of reverence. Veneration to Our Lady of Częstochowa has continued for over three centuries. The monastery is regarded as the most popular shrine in Poland and, each year on August 6, many Polish Catholics begin an annual pilgrimage to the site. The procession leaves Warsaw and follows a route to Częstochowa, taking nine days and covering 140 miles. Her feast day is celebrated on August 26. On a personal note, my wife’s parents emigrated to the United States from Poland following World War II. They settled in South Boston, Massachusetts, where there is a church named in honor of Our Lady of Częstochowa. It continues as the “Polish Church” of Boston to this day. 
 300th Anniversary of Our Lady of Częstochowa: Queen of Poland Scott 216-218 (1956) REFERENCES: |
