March 25, 2019

Thought for today: 

“A painting about which we were unable to separate fact  from  fiction was the ‘Virgin and child’ in the Paulin monastery at Czestochowa, in Southern Poland.  A Polish reader living in Leicestershire asked us to confirm the following story about the painting, knows as the ‘Protector of Poland’, and said to have been painted by one of Christ’s apostles.

“When Sweden invaded Poland in 1655, the Swedes tried to remove the painting in a horse-drawn wagon, but could not budge it an inch. Exasperated, two Swedish soldiers drew their swords and slashed the virgins cheek.  As soon as their swords touched the canvas, the soldiers fell dead. And nobody has since been able to cover up the scars.

“Although unable to confirm it to the letter, we were happy to find out that such a good story certainly was based on some fact.  Admittedly Our Lady of Czestochowa, first said  to have been painted by St. Luke, is now believed to be the work of an unknown Italian artist in 1383.  But the painting certainly took on a special significance after the heroic defense of the monastery in 1655, when the invading  Swedes were defeated after a 70-day siege.

“Following this miraculous victory, King Casimir of Poland proclaimed: ‘To touch Our Lady of Czestochowa is to touch the very soul of Poland.’ Whether by Swedish swords or not, the Virgin’s cheek remains scarred, and every year thousands of pilgrims go to see it.”   

Old Codgers’