In the minds of the Polish people, Ostra

Brama has always been inextricably associated

with the icon of Our Lady of Vilnius.133 This

connection, however, is not free from ambiguity,

which is often highlighted by scholars studying

Polish religiosity.134 In scholarly analysis the most

common approach is the treating of the cult of

Our Lady of Ostra Brama as a manifestation of

national Catholicism, which allows Poles, espe-

cially in difficult moments of history, to find

strength and patriotism in religion135 and indeed

we can find many examples from the history of

the Vilnius icon which confirm that this image

has been treated as a kind of a national icon.136

The cult of Our Lady of Ostra Brama appeared

during the course of wars conducted by Poland

against her neighbours. The occupation of Vil-

nius by the Muscovite army in 1655, as well

as the occupation of the city by the Swedes in

1702 constituted a real threat to the existence of

the inhabitants and triggered the need to seek

protection from other than mere human hands.

The image of Our Lady of Ostra Brama, espe-

cially due to its location, became a real defensive

133] The image of Our Lady of Ostra Brama, called the Madonna of Mercy, probably comes from the first half of the 17th century and waspainted in the circle of artists of the Krakow school. According to some scholars, Master Łukasz, the author of a similar image ordered in 1624by the Corpus Christi Church in Krakow, was inspired by the Flemish author, Martin de Vosa, a well-known author of the images of the Vir-gin Mary with arms crossed on her chest, to portray the Queen Barbara Radziwiłłówna. The Vilnius picture was painted in tempera on an oakboard. A metallic dress, shining with gold, hides the image of Our Lady of Ostra Brama, dressed in a red tunic with sleeves rolled up. Her neckis covered with a shawl, her head with a white scarf. The entire figure is covered with greenish-blue overcoat thrown over her head and shoul-ders. The background has a shade of brown. Since 1849 the characteristic decoration of the image is a large, inverted silver crescent with an en-graved votive inscription. The whole image of the Madonna of Mercy also features two crowns of gilded silver, placed one over the other. Theysymbolize Her sovreignty over the sky, Lithuania and Poland.

134] More in Górski, K., Problematyka historyczna kultu maryjnego (The Cult of Mary in Historical Perspective), “Nasza Przeszłość”, 13/1961,pp. 245–252; Mrowiński, W., O czci Matki Boskiej w Polsce (On the Veneration of Our Lady in Poland), Lwów 1886; Olszewski, D., Pobożnośćpątnicza w polskiej kulturze religijnej przełomu XIX i XX wieku (Pilrgimage Piety in Polish Religious Culture at the Turn of the 20th century), “Stu-dia Claromontana”, 7/1987, pp. 70–85; Olszewski, D., Polska kultura religijna na przełomie XIX i XX wieku (Polish Religious Culture at the Turnof the 20th century), pp. 182–183, Warszawa 1996.

135] Kałamajska-Saeed, M., Ostra Brama w Wilnie (The Ostra Brama in Vilnius), Warszawa 1990, pp. 190–202; Olszewski, D., Polska kulturareligijna na przełomie XIX i XX wieku (Polish Religious Culture at the Turn of the 20th century), p. 198, Warszawa 1996.

136] Jabłońska-Deptułowa, E., Kult maryjny w Polsce w XIX wieku (Cult of Mary in Poland in the 19th Century), pp. 43–51, Więź, 5/1963.

Katarzyna Jarkiewicz

The Importance of the Cult

of Our Lady of Ostra Brama/Aušros Vartai

to the Polish and Lithuanian Religiosity

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rampart and the only real effective weapon

against the enemies.137 The strength of such a

message was emphasized not only by pious songs

created in the 18th century, such” as “O! Thou,

Great Stronghold of Giedymin’s City” or “O!

Thou, Holy Gate, Joy unto God,” but also by

Marian devotional services popularised by the

Carmelites – the guardians of the icon.138 It was

before the image of Our Lady of Ostra Brama

that the Loretto litany was sung for the first time

in Polish lands (incidentally, in the second half of

the 18th century, the Ostra Brama accompanying

musicians were considered among the best in the

country), and it was here that the Rosary became

a primary manifestation of Marian devotion of

Poles. The tendency to combine religious cults

with a national struggle for independence be-

comes intensified during times of the partition of

Poland and her occupation. Polish romantic poets

played a major role in promoting this message. It

was Adam Mickiewicz who, in Book IX of “Pan

Tadeusz,” described an episode of the Kościuszko

Insurrection in Vilnius, in which the burgher

Czarnobacki, the soldier Mornowski and the

monk Cielica, repelled an assault of Russian

forces at the Ostra Brama and struck down Gen-

eral Dejow by cannon shot. Mickiewicz’s message

is very clear: Our Lady of Ostra Brama cares for

the unity of all classes and reveals the direction

of action for the national cause.139 A similar role,

namely the propagators of cult of the “Artemis

of Vilnius,” was played in the works by Juliusz

Słowacki, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, and Włady-

sław Syrokomla.140 A renowned Vilnius com-

poser, Stanisław Moniuszko, devoted four solemn

litanies for choir and orchestra to the Ostra

Brama sanctuary, earnestly trying to prove that he

was in succession to those masters who regarded

devotion to the Blessed Virgin as the most effec-

tive weapon in the “difficult periods of beloved

homeland.”141 During the Uprising of January

1830, the connection between Marian devotion

and the independence movement was even more

evident. At the Ostra Brama national demon-

strations were held and money for the military

was collected unreservedly.142 The fulfillment of

137] More: Kuleszo, A., Historja cudownego obrazu Najświętszej Marji Panny Matki Miłosierdzia na Ostrej Bramie w Wilnie (A History of theMiraculous Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, from Ostra Brama in Vilnius) Wilno 1927.

138] Karmelici bosi strzegli Ostrej Bramy (Discalced Carmelites Guarded Ostra Brama), in <http://www.nasza-arka.pl/2008/rozdzial.php?numer=11&rozdzial=2>, 17.11.2009. More: Sieczka, T., Kult obrazu N. Marji Panny Ostrobramskiej w dziejowym rozwoju (Cult of the Icon ofthe Blessed Virgin Mary of Ostra Brama in its Historical Development), Wilno 1934.

139] More: Łojek, M., Kult Matki Boskiej w twórczości Adama Mickiewicza: w 75-tą rocznicę koronacji Matki Boskiej Ostrobramskiej (Cult ofOur Lady in the Works by Adam Mickiewicz: on the 75th Anniversary of the Coronation of Our Lady of Ostra Brama), Bydgoszcz 2002.

140] Buczma, J., Matka Boska Ostrobramska – Tak nas powrócisz cudem na ojczyzny łono: poezje sybirskie (Our Lady of Ostra Brama – You willReturn Us to Our Motherland: Poetry from Siberia), Kłodzko 2004.

141] Pobożność Matce Boskiej (Piety for Our Lady), in <http://www.ausrosvartai.lt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=147&Itemid=156>, 12.11.2009.

142] See more in Sankowski, P., Matka Boska Miłosierdzia w Ostrej Bramie (Our Lady of Mercy at Ostra Brama), Wilno 1927.

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Polish prayers was realised in 1919, when Józef

Piłsudski's legions marched into the city. In ac-

cordance with the will of the Commander, a great

devotee of the Ostra Brama icon, since 1916 Pol-

ish soldiers wore a Ryngraf (a Marian medal) with

the image of Our Lady of Vilnius as a means of

praying for the independence of Poland. Piłsud-

ski, in his gratitude, had a votive plaque placed

at Ostra Brama; “Thank you, Mother, for Vil-

nius.”143 Also during World War II Poles associ-

ated their hopes with Our Lady of Ostra Brama.

Her intervention was prayed for in the plans for

the liberation of the city by the Home Army dur-

ing the Soviet offensive of 1944.144 The image of

143] Górecka, B., Wilno … I w Ostrej świecisz Bramie (Vilnius ... and You shine in Ostra Brama), in <http://www.krajoznawcy.info.pl/Wilno-i-w-Ostrej-swiecisz-Bramie-a844.php>, 17.11.2009.

144] See more in Boradyn, Z., Chnielarz, A., Piskunowicz, H., Z dziejów Armii Krajowej na Nowogródczyźnie i Wileńszczyźnie (From the His-tory of the Home Army in the Area of Nowogródek and Vilnius), Radom, 1997; Korab-Żebryk, R., Operacja wileńska AK (The Vilnius Operationof the Home Army, Warszawa 1985.

Ill. 7Our Lady of Misericordia

[Ostra Brama/Aušros Vartai],Vilnius, Lithuania

Photo by

Wiesna Mond-Kozłowska

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Our Lady of Vilnius was also a symbol of anti-

communist movements, e.g. it was a permanent

feature on a series of stamps issued by the under-

ground “Solidarity” post.145

It would be impossible not to notice here

that Polish religiosity, expressed in the veneration

of Our Lady of Ostra Brama and somewhat

marked by strong national sentiment, enabled to

treat this cult more widely, particularly in relation

to the Lithuanian independence movement,

emerging and developing in the 19th century.

Joachim Lelewel had previously regarded as abu-

sive the attempts at the appropriation of the

Marian cult of Ostra Brama by the Poles.146 Ac-

cording to Lelewel, the patroness of Vilnius

guided the national aspirations of both parties

equally.147 Pope Pius XI also showed a good un-

derstanding of these problems: in order to pro-

tect both nations from mutual hostility he did not

agree to give Our Lady of Ostra Brama the title

“The Queen of Poles” during the coronation of

the icon in 1927.148 Certainly, the experience

of persecution, deportation and emigration of

a great part of the population favored the cre-

ation of a more Catholic (universal) religiosity.

The Ostra Brama shrine was perceived as a sym-

bol of the lost homeland, and the cult of the Vir-

gin Mary of Ostra Brama – as a source of hope.

Members of the Filareci association, setting out

for exile in 1824, prayed before the miraculous

icon, similarly as the exiles to Siberia, such as

Saint Rafal Kalinowski.149 Emigrants, scattered

around the world, funded copies of the image,

such as the followers of Towiański in Paris; nu-

merous devotional objects used to be decorated

with the image of Our Lady of Ostra Brama.

Under the influence of the Vilnius cult, Polish re-

ligious art of the 19th century developed a spe-

cific type of oval woodcut, which captured the

nature of the miraculous image. Its fame was

further spread through the experience of World

War II. In oflags and concentration camps im-

ages were made in its shape, often decorated with

metal dresses made of e.g. empty cans. For Poles

and Lithuanians, scattered around the world by

war, poverty and political turmoil, the image of

Ostra Brama was a unifying symbol; they would

often choose the “Guardian of the Eastern Bor-

derlands” as a patroness of their associations, and

even business corporations. They would build

145] Poczta Solidarności Podziemnej w latach 1982–1989 (The Post of the Underground Solidarity between 1982 and 1989); in <http://www.podziemna.republika.pl/>, 17.11.2009.

146] Vil'na 1823–1824: perekrestki pamâti, sost. Aleksandr Feduta; podgot. teksta, publ., vstup. stat'i., koment. Pavel Lavrinec, Abram Rejt-blat, Aleksandr Feduta; perev. s pol. Maksim Ivaŝenko, Dmitrij Matvejčik; nauč. red. Tat'âna Avtuhovič, Minsk, 2008. Por. Lelewel, J., Listy em-igracyjne (Letters from the Exile), vol. 1, 1831–1835, Kraków 1948.

147] Gudavičius, E., Geneza polskiego fenomenu kulturowego na Litwie (The Genesis of the Polish Cultural Phenomenon in Lithuania), in Korze-niewska, K., Sirutavicius, V., Pozostawione historii. Litwini o Polsce i Polakach (Left to History. Lithuanians on Poland and Poles), Kraków 1999.

148] Szlegier, H., I w Ostrej świecisz Bramie (And You Shine in Ostra Brama), Białystok 1994. 149] Prowadzeni ręką Maryi (Led by Mary’s Hand), in <http://www.nasza-arka.pl/2008/rozdzial.php?numer=11&rozdzial=4>, 17.11.2009.

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churches in her honour wherever they could.

Lithuanian parishes of “Ostra Brama” were

founded in New York (USA) and Montreal

(Canada). Poles would erect Marian shrines not

only abroad. Forced to leave the Vilnius region

and move to Poland after World War II, they

desired to have churches dedicated to Our Lady

of Ostra Brama (e.g. in Bydgoszcz, Szczecin, War-

saw).150 The number of these churches reaches up

to 30 today. Also copies of the Ostra Brama

itself were built, e.g. in Krakow or Skarżysko-

-Kamienna. In Poland, the strongest center of wor-

ship is located in Białystok151 and it was here that

the Archbishop of Vilnius, Romuald Jałbrzy-

kowski, moved after World War II; it was he who

decided that the miraculous image should remain

in Lithuania. In autumn of 1945, he began a no-

venna to the Care of Our Lady of Ostra Brama.

This devotional service is currently very popular in

Podlasie (Podlachia). In 1970, in the Vatican, in

the basement of St. Peter's basilica, a Lithuanian

Chapel was blessed by Pope Paul VI. A mosaic

depicting the Virgin of Ostra Brama was placed

on the altar and is often visited by Polish and

Lithuanian pilgrims.152 It should be remembered

that the occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet

Union intensified the persecution of believers, but

did not extinguish devotion to Our Lady of Ostra

Brama.153 Communists, similarly to the tsarist au-

thorities after the collapse of the Uprising of Jan-

uary 1830, removed the inscription in Polish

(restored in 1919) at Ostra Brama “Mother of

Mercy, we recourse to your protection,” and substi-

tuted it with a Latin inscription, but they did not

close the sanctuary, thanks to the will of, among

others, war veterans (after the fall of Communism

lists of many miracles, which had been experi-

enced by Red Army soldiers at the fronts of World

War II and also e.g. in Afghanistan, were re-

vealed.)154 In 1948 in Vilnius, a secret College of

Our Lady of Ostra Brama was founded, but was

liquidated in 1950. After 1973, the members of the

Association of Friends of the Eucharist, an independ-

ent Catholic youth organization, began to arrive in

an orderly manner for the celebrations of the Day

of the Care of Our Lady, a festival introduced

150] <http://www.wierze.tnb.pl/readarticle.php?article_id=6>, 17.11.2009. Pawłowiczowa, M., Obrazy Matki Bożej przywiezione po II wo-jnie światowej z Kresów wschodnich (Images of Our Lady Brought after World War II from the Eastern Borderlands), in <http://www.opoka.org.pl/biblioteka/I/IS/obrazy_kresy.html>, 17.11.2009.

151] Rutkowska, E., Matka Miłosierdzia w katedrze białostockiej (Our Lady of Mercy in the Cathedral of Bialystok ), in <http://www.abobola.aplus.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=168&Itemid=37>, 12.11.2009.

152] Ty u bramy naszej trzymasz straż (You Hold the Guard at our Gate), in <http://www.nasza-arka.pl/2008/rozdzial.php?numer=11&rozdzial=11>, 17.11.2009.

153] Strażniczka wiary katolickiej (The Guardian of the Catholic Faith), in <http://www.nasza-arka.pl/2008/rozdzial.php?numer=11&rozdzial=3>, 17.11.2009.

154] Kaplica Matki Boskiej Ostrobramskiej (The Chapel of Our Lady of Ostra Brama), in <http://lwow.wilno.w.interia.pl/wilno2.htm>, 17.11.2009.More: Goricewa, T., Matka Boska na Wschodzie i na Zachodzie: Jej pomoc w pokonaniu komunizmu i w ponownym ożywieniu Kościoła (Our Ladyin the East and West: Her help in Defeating Communism and Church Revival), Kraków 1993; Venclova, T., Wilno (Vilnius), Wilno 2002.

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to the Church calendar in 1735 and celebrated

massively at Ostra Brama since the middle of the

18th century. Young people from various Vilnius

parishes recited in turns the Rosary before the

image of the Mother of God.155 On the 16th No-

vember 1979, the Catholic Committee for the

Defense of the Rights of Believers celebrated here

the first anniversary of its activity. Its leaders,

Father Alfonsas Svarinskas and sister Nijole

Sadunaite, emphasized repeatedly that they sur-

vived persecution and remained steadfast in their

way thanks to the support and assistance from

Mary of Ostra Brama.156 The example of Lithuan-

ian Catholics, the worshippers of Our Lady of

Ostra Brama, was appreciated by Poles and evoked

engagement on their part, e.g. my own aunt, as

a member of the Polish-Soviet Friendship Society

participated in the project of secretive transfering

of devotional objects to Lithuania in the 1970s.

The cult of the Vilnius icon was intensified after

the election of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła to the pa-

pacy. Among the Catholics of Lithuania, despite

the media blockade, word of mouth spread the

news that Pope John Paul II, immediately after

being chosen, secretly sent to Vilnius his cardinal

skullcap as a votive offering to Our Lady of Ostra

Brama.157

It should be stressed that Polish religiosity

formed by the cult of the Vilnius icon evolved not

only in terms of Polish relations with the Lithua-

nians, but took on a more ecumenical nature in

relation to other national and religious commu-

nities. This was somehow the result of the ethnic

diversity of the Old Commonwealth. Crowds of

Poles, Lithuanians, Armenians, Tatars, Karaites

and Jews learned the attitudes of a more friendly

coexistence regarding the worship of the De-

fender of the city, which united the whole of the

Vilnius community.158 Regardless of religious

denomination, the laws prohibiting trading on

the Ostra Brama Street were obeyed and hats

were lifted while passing next to Ostra Brama.

All those in need were allowed before the face of

the Virgin of Vilnius, including a large part of

those who were not Catholic: Uniate, Orthodox,

Armenians, who could also even celebrate their

own services in the miraculous chapel. Common

prayers of Carmelites, the guardians of the sanc-

tuary, with Basilians lasted till the suppression

of the Union by the tsarist regime in 1839.159

155] Pobożność Matce Boskiej (Piety to Mother of God), in <http://www.ausrosvartai.lt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=147&Itemid=156>, 12.11.2009.

156] See more in Wołowski, P., Korzeniewska, K., Jak służąc Panu Bogu przechytrzyć KGB. Rozmowy z twórcami „Kroniki Kościoła Kato-lickiego na Litwie” (How to Outwit the KGB, while Serving the Lord. Conversations with the Authors of “Chronicles of the Catholic Church inLithuania”), Warszawa 2006.

157] More on John Paul II’s relationships with Our Lady of Ostra Brama: Jak mnie …do zdrowia powróciłaś cudem! (How I ... Miraculously Re-covered Thanks to You), in <http://www.nasza-arka.pl/2008/rozdzial.php?numer=11&rozdzial=6>, 17.11.2009.

158] Jankowska,L., Wilno kościoły drogie sercu każdego Polaka (Vilnius Churches Dear to the Heart of Every Pole), Wilno 2004. 159] See more in Dowdo, L., Wilno – przewodnik turystyczny (Vilnius – A Tourist Guide ), Wilno 2008.

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Relations with Jews were extremely important

for the shape of Polish religiosity. Vilnius, called

the Jerusalem of the North, in the 17th and 18th

century was the most important center of Tal-

mudic studies in the world.160 At the turn of the

20th century, the city of Vilnius gathered the

avant-garde of Jewish political movements. It was

here that the anti-Zionist organization Bund was

founded and here developed the activity of the

Jewish Scholarly Institute (YIVO) which stud-

ied the Yiddish language, giving the basis for its

vocabulary and spelling. The presence of Jews was

dominant in the interwar period, primarily at the

Stefan Batory University and in the municipal in-

stitutions, but regarded by Poles as something ob-

vious, because of the centuries-long contribution

of this community to the history of the city.161

Holocaust hit the basis of ethnic symbiosis which

160] More: Kłos, J., Wilno. Przewodnik krajoznawczy (Vilnius. A Sightseeing Guide), Wilno 1923. 161] Radczenko, A., Żydzi na Litwie: ponad 600 lat historii (Jews in Lithuania: More than 600 Years of History), in <http://kurierwilenski.lt

/2009/07/31/zydzi-na-litwie-ponad-600-lat-historii/>, 17.11.2009.

Ill. 8 Our Lady of Misericordia

[Ostra Brama/Aušros Vartai],Vilnius, Lithuania

Photo by

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had been functioning unceasingly for centuries

and induced resistance even in those circles that

were hostile to Jews. Confrontational trends of

Polish Catholicism lost their polemic grounds

with the extermination of Jews, and thus weak-

ened the ecumenical dialogue which had been

carried out within the Church. The miraculous

image of the Queen of Ostra Brama played an

outstanding role in this process, becoming the

leaven for the attitudes of Christian charity and

human compassion. The guardian of the shrine,

Father Andrzej Gdowski, hid a large group of

Jews in the chapel; he would make passports for

them and send them abroad. He also prepared

a well camouflaged space near the chapel for

a synagogue.162 It is such attitudes of the worship-

pers of the Vilnius icon that form ecumenical

trends in Polish Catholicism. Its contemporary

manifestation is, e.g. Orthodox – Catholic move-

ment of pilgrimages to the shrine, held continu-

ously since 1992 from Białystok. Among the

pilgrims to Ostra Brama, in the pilgrimages de-

parting from Olsztyn and Suwałki, one can often

meet Protestants as well.163

An unusually strong bond and mutual inter-

action exists between the cult of the Ostra Brama

icon and the cult of Divine Mercy. This follows

somewhat from the very nature of the painting,

which reflects the North European tradition of

presenting the Annunciation scene. Modeled on

the work of the Dutch artist of the 16th century,

Thomas de Loe, its Vilnius counterpart, painted

in the years 1620–1630, contains an additional

and specific message of mystical ties between

Mary and Christ164 and in regard to this depic-

tion, since the time of its coronation, the icon of

the Virgin of Ostra Brama has been called the

Mother of Mercy. Its great worshipper was St.

Maximilian Maria Kolbe, who, while being in

Vilnius, made the following prayer: “Our Lady of

Mercy, as you do not have the Child in your

hands, take me into your hands and carry me

happily through life.”165 Frequent prayers to the

Mother of Mercy were also made by Father

Michał Sopoćko, the confessor of Saint Faustina

Kowalska, also strongly experiencing in her mys-

tical visions the presence of Mary from Ostra

Brama.166 Sister Faustina felt that the world owes

162] Jarkiewicz, K., W ogniu wypróbowany 1939–1945 (Tested in a Fire 1939–1945), in Dzieje Kościoła w Polsce (History of the Church inPoland ), ed. Wiencek A., p. 412, Warszawa 2008.

163] Pielgrzymując do Ostrej Bramy (While on Pilgrimage to Ostra Brama), in <http://www.nasza-arka.pl/2008/rozdzial.php?numer=11&rozdzial=7>, 17.11.2009.

164] Rolewicz, M., Wiadomość o cudownym obrazie Najświętszej Marii Panny na Ostrej Bramie (The News of the Miraculous Image of Our Ladyof Ostra Brama), Wilno 1907; Skrudlik, M., W sprawie twórcy obrazu N. Maryi Panny Ostrobramskiej (About the Author of the Image of Our Ladyof Ostra Brama), Wilno 1927.

165] Prowadzeni ręką Maryi (Led by Mary’s Hand), in <http://www.nasza-arka.pl/2008/rozdzial.php?numer=11&rozdzial=4>, 17.11.2009. 166] Opiewał Miłosierdzie Pańskie (He Sang the Lord’s Mercy), in <http://www.nasza-arka.pl/2008/rozdzial.php?numer=11&rozdzial=9>,

17.11.2009.

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the birth of the Rosary to God’s Mercy to the

Lady of Ostra Brama. It was during the contem-

plation of the Ostra Brama image that she saw

not only Christ but she also learned about the

message of mercy and its universal character.167

For this reason, the image of Merciful Christ,

painted by the Vilnius artist, Eugeniusz Kazi-

mirowski, was exhibited in the window of the

miraculous chapel during the Jubilee of the Re-

demption of the World between 26th and 28th

April, 1935.168 The completion of the ceremony

coincided with the first Sunday after Easter, now

widely celebrated in the Church as the Sunday of

Divine Mercy.169 It should be mentioned that the

cult of Divine Mercy quickly became widespread

among the devotees of Our Lady of Ostra Brama,

and was so strongly associated with it that it was

even introduced into film. The enthusiastically

received movie by Jan Nowina Przybylski “You,

Who Shines at Ostra Brama …” from 1937 con-

tains a scene in which the heroine, while praying

before the image of Our Lady of Ostra Brama,

sees the Merciful Christ who supports her belief

in the possibility of the reparation of one’s life.170

It was the worshippers of the icon of Vilnius that

were the first ambassadors of Divine Mercy in the

world and wherever they reached, they developed

the service initiated by Sister Faustina.171

The issue of the connection between the

Ostra Brama worship and all forms of Polish

feminist religiosity still remains an area explored

to a little extent. On the one hand, such an anal-

ogy is obvious: since the beginning of the Marian

devotion at Ostra Brama the vast majority of ven-

erators have been women. It was due to women’s

influx into the miraculous chapel that in 1789

a gallery for women was added, so that those who

previously prayed kneeling on the pavement of

Ostrobramska Street could participate in the re-

ligious services in a dignified way.172 It was also

relatively early that they began to hang votive of-

ferings both from their own gems and woven ar-

ticles, including special tapestries with pious

maxims. Their number is estimated today at more

than eight thousand.173 The extent of women’s

piety in relation to the icon of Vilnius, however,

is puzzling. Many have tried to explain it by, for

example, the fact that the original image, prior

167] Machniak, J., Widziałam Pana: wizje św. Siostry Faustyny Kowalskiej (I saw the Lord, Visions St. Sister Faustyna Kowalska), Kraków 2001. 168] Labuda, T., Promienie łask: o malarskim odtworzeniu wizji św. Faustyny Kowalskiej (The Rays of Grace: about the Depiction of Vision of St.

Faustyna Kowalska), Warszawa 2001. 169] Szewczyk, M., Matka Najświętsza z Ostrej Bramy (Our Lady of Ostra Brama), „Przewodnik Katolicki”, 33/2010.170] Ty, co w Ostrej świecisz Bramie… (You, who Shines in Ostra Brama), in <http://www.filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php/22533>, 17.11.2009. 171] Cf. Wilno stolicą miłosierdzia (Vilnius – the Capital of Divine Mercy), in <http://www.nasza-arka.pl/2008/rozdzial.php?numer=11&

rozdzial=8>, 17.11.2009. 172] Nowakowski, E., O cudownym obrazie Najśw. Maryi P. Ostrobramskiej: wiadomość historyczna (About the Miraculous Image of Our Lady

of Ostra Brama: Historical News), Kraków 1895. 173] Klejn, M., Znikające srebro w Ostrej Bramie (Silver Disappearing at Ostra Brama), in <http://www.e-numizmatyka.pl/portal/strona-

glowna/srebro/lista-artykulow/znikajace-srebro-w-ostrej-bramie.html>, 30.03.2010.

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to its version repainted in the 18th century, was

more than familiar, as it contained a lock of hair

slipping out from under the shawl of the Virgin

and that she had too delicate fingers.174 This

could have encouraged women to search in the

picture for a perfect pattern, a matrix for the

fulfillment of their longings, for the perfect sil-

houette. The particularly special nature of this

painting stems also from the fact that it was not

subject to the phenomenon of having been

copied into pictures, which in turn were made

objects of individual worship, as was the case, for

example, of the icon of Jasna Góra.175 Our Lady

of Sokal or Our Lady of Bochnia are only copies

of Our Lady of Częstochowa, while Our Lady

of Licheń duplicates the image from Rokitno

Wielkopolskie.176 In this context, the icon of

Ostra Brama is unique, which certainly affects

the women praying before the image. An at-

tempt to describe this issue was made by Antoni

Gołubiew, who mentions a conversation held in

Bialystok between a repatriate from Vilnius, Fa-

ther Witold Pietkun and a women – a former

resident of this city, also displaced into Poland:

she complained that she could not pray before

the beloved image. In response to Father Piet-

kun’s remark that now it was closer to Czesto-

chowa, she said in Vilnius dialect: “To Our Lady

of Ostra Brama you can run and cry, talk to her

as a woman to a woman, open the whole soul.

While at the arm of the one of Częstochowa sits

the little Jesus, watching with his eyes and lis-

tening to every single word, so that there is no

discretion and what’s more, she is the Queen of

Poland, would you talk to her without any em-

barrassment?”177 This implies that women treat

Mary of Ostra Brama in a very direct way. She

corresponds more to their needs, especially in the

construction of individual identity and arousing

social activity. Tracing the fate of the leading

women-worshippers of Our Lady of Vilnius we

can not help noticing that they are ambitious and

self-confident women, knowing their vocation

and able to carry out great works, often requiring

to overcome conformist attitudes. In the inter-

war period, numerous associations of teachers and

clarks, e.g. from Krakow, organized pilgrima-

ges to Ostra Brama to visit the sanctuary and

celebrate a service of beseechment for the in-

tentions of the women participants, especially

for the success of many initiatives. The Vilnius

National Congress of Polish Teachers’ Union

from 1931 was dominated by the issue of educa-

tion of children in the rural areas of the Eastern

174] See more in Malewski Cz. (ed.), Historia cudownego obrazu Matki Boskiej Ostrobramskiej: ku upamiętnieniu 75-lecia koronacji (The His-tory of the Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Ostra Brama: to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Its Coronation), Wilno 2002.

175] See more in Niedźwiedź, A., Obraz i postać: znaczenie wizerunku Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej (Picture and Figure: the Importance of theImage of Our Lady of Częstochowa), Kraków 2005.

176] Charkiewicz, J., Ikony Matki Bożej (Icons of Our Lady), Hajnówka 2000.177] See more in Gołubiew, A., Unoszeni historią (Carried by History ), Kraków 1971.

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Borderlands.178 Under its auspices there were

trusted to Our Lady of Mercy matters concerning

the female “apostolate of mercy,” extra-ordinarily

active during the occupation and the early postwar

years, organizing banks of mutual help and taking

care of war orphans.179 Currently, in many Polish

parishes Mary of Ostra Brama is a patron of char-

itable works and women’s associations. Leading

Catholic feminists identify themselves with the

message of the icon.180 Women-worshippers of

Our Lady of Ostra Brama were, among others:

Emilia Plater, Eliza Orzeszkowa, Aleksandra

Piłsudska, the wife of Józef Piłsudski, Zofia

Leśniowska, a daughter of general Władysław

Sikorski, or, currently – Maryla Rodowicz.181 It

should be noted that also at present among the

women of Lithuania, the theme of symbolism

of the image of Ostra Brama appears bringing

“liberation for women,” which causes media con-

troversies about the impact of this religious motif

on the whole of the Lithuanian culture.182

The content featured above leads to a more

general reflection. The cult of Our Lady of Ostra

Brama is not uniform; it evolves under the influ-

ence of historical and social experience, and is more

and more inclined towards individualistic reli-

giousness.183 It is important especially for women

because it increases their creative, Christian and

active attitudes. This cult, through its relationship

with the work of the Divine Mercy takes on world-

wide meaning; it possesses universal and ecumeni-

cal dimensions. Being still important for Poles and

Lithuanians, it provides their relative national

identity and is a proof of their shared history.

178] Domżał, U.A., Opieka państwa i organizacji pozarządowych nad dzieckiem w latach 1919–1939 (The Care of the Children by the State andNGOs between 1919 and 1939), Łódź 2009.

179] Rafalska, K., Wspomnienia polskiej nauczycielki z lat 1939–1948 (Memories of a Polish Teacher from the Years 1939–1948), Brzozów1995; Grześ, B., Deportacje nauczycieli do ZSRR: 1939–1941 (Deportations of Teachers into the USSR: 1939–1941), Warszawa 1995.

180] Adamiak, E., Spotkania z Maryją: komentarz do uroczystości i świąt maryjnych (Encounters with Mary: Commentary to Marian Celebra-tions and Holidays), Poznań 1998; E. Adamiak, Mariologia (Mariology), Poznań, 2003.

181] Ciepieńko – Zielińska, D., Emilia Plater, Warszawa 1966; Piłsudska, A., Wspomnienia (Memories), Warszawa 2004, Rodowicz, M., Niechżyje bal! (Long Live the Ball), Warszawa 1992.

182] Matka Boska Ostrobramska reklamuje modne ciuchy (Our Lady of Ostra Brama Advertises Trendy Clothes), in <http://polonia.wp.pl/title,Matka-Boska-Ostrobramska-reklamuje-modne-ciuchy,wid,11826927,wiadomosc.html>, 30.01.2010.

183] Matka Miłosierdzia z Ostrej Bramy: w 50-tą rocznicę koronacji obrazu Matki Boskiej Ostrobramskiej (Mother of Mercy of Ostra Brama: the50th Anniversary of the Coronation of the Icon of Our Lady of Ostra Brama ), Roma 1977.