National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa

National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa

The Black Madonna of Czestochowa
Location	Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Designer	George Szeptycki
Type	Shrine
Beginning date	1953
Opening date	June 26, 1955
Dedicated to	Black Madonna of Częstochowa

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa (or simply Czestochowa), known also as the American Czestochowa is a Polish-American Roman Catholic shrine near Doylestown, Pennsylvania, founded in 1953. It houses a reproduction of the Black Madonna icon of Częstochowa, Poland. The heart of Poland's third prime minister, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, is also preserved there.

History

In 1953 a Polish Pauline monk, Father Michael M. Zembrzuski, purchased a tract of land near Doylestown with the intention of building a chapel dedicated to the Black Madonna of Częstochowa at Jasna Góra, Poland's most important religious icon, to reconnect Polish-Americans with their Polish Catholic roots. A barn was converted into the first chapel; it was moved to a new site and dedicated on June 26, 1955.

The chapel was reorganized as a shrine to celebrate the thousandth anniversary of the Polish nation in 1966. It was dedicated on October 16, 1966, by Archbishop (later Cardinal) John Krol and President Lyndon B. Johnson. The centerpiece of the new shrine was a church building designed by the Polish-American architect George Szeptycki housing the replica of the Black Madonna painting.

In subsequent years other facilities have been added to the site, including a Polish-American cemetery (including monuments to Poland's third prime minister Ignacy Paderewski, the Polish-Lithuanian hussars, and the victims of the Katyń massacres), a monastery, and a visitor center. The cemetery also includes the graves of members of the Polish Veterans of World War II. The lower church interior was remodeled to resemble the interior of the Jasna Góra shrine in Poland housing the original painting. There is also an outdoor pathway with the Stations of the Cross.

See also

• Black Madonna Shrine, Missouri
• List of shrines#United States

References

External links

• Official site
• Article describing the shrine

Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Ordinaries	Bishops Michael Francis Egan, OFM Henry Conwell Francis Patrick Kenrick Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, CSsR Archbishops James Frederick Wood Patrick John Ryan Edmond Francis Prendergast Dennis Joseph Cardinal Dougherty John Francis Cardinal O'Hara, CSC John Joseph Cardinal Krol Anthony Joseph Cardinal Bevilacqua Justin Francis Cardinal Rigali Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. Auxiliary Bishops, current Michael J. Fitzgerald John J. McIntyre Timothy C. Senior Auxiliary Bishops, former Cletus Joseph Benjamin Michael Francis Burbidge Joseph R. Cistone Michael Joseph Crane Edward Peter Cullen Louis A. DeSimone Francis James Furey John Joseph Graham Edward Hughes Hugh L. Lamb Martin Nicholas Lohmuller Robert P. Maginnis Joseph Francis Martino Joseph Carroll McCormick John Joseph McCort Gerald Vincent McDevitt Joseph P. McFadden Joseph Mark McShea Gerald Patrick O'Hara Francis B. Schulte Daniel Edward Thomas Thomas Jerome Welsh
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Coordinates: 40°19′09″N 75°10′46″W / 40.3192°N 75.1795°W / 40.3192; -75.1795