Częstochowa
Basilica at Czestochowa
November 12, 2004
I made a journey to the holiest of holy pilgrimage sites in Poland: Częstochowa.
Derek and I started out with a bite to eat then we entered Jasna Góra. Both Derek
and I are Catholic so we felt pretty comfortable in this holy complex and we are
both well aware of the customs and traditions of the faith.
We began by entering the Basilica, which is extravagantly decorated, but more noticeable
were the pilgrims, despite the lack of mass at the time. On each side there are
confessionals, and the lines waiting for their turn at the confessional booth ran
a quarter of the length of the church on both sides.
Jasna Gora's grounds are easy to navigate with the Stations of the Cross around
the outside perimeter. A group near us would pray at each station then sing as they
moved to the next station; it felt like we had entered a monastery.
The Chapel of the Last Supper and of course the Black Madonna were the highlights
and the next stops on our trek. I was quite surprised to find more people in the
basilica than in front of the icon. I was also very surprised to find a number of
students talking on their cell phones in front of the icon when there’s a very clearly
marked “silence” sign written in about 8 languages next to them. Jasna Gora's
holiness comes from the Black Madonna, this is the center of the religious experience
here, yet it seems to be the basilica that the pilgrims were attracted to. The Black
Madonna marked the end of our religious experience and the start of the history
and sightseeing part of the tour.
We walked around the large building next to the basilica and saw a number of rooms
that were very ornately decorated, but the highlight was next door at the arsenal.
Religion and war at times are too closely connected and this exhibit exemplified
this truth. This entire complex doubled as a military stronghold, and just a couple
minutes from the country’s most holy icon is a room of armor, swords, and axes.
Also in the armory is a rosary that struck me in awe, not because it was a rosary,
but because of the caption attached. It was made from bread by a prisoner in Auschwitz.
This struck me as an incredible sacrifice, especially seeing as how he probably
didn’t get that much to eat to begin with, yet sacrificed the little food he got
for the making of a rosary.
Lastly, we climbed the tower of the basilica, from which viewpoint we realized why
this place was so different from anything else: there was no admission and no fees
to go anywhere, but it's all maintained on donations. Also from the tower, we
realized how much of a communist block city this is, for as far as one could see
it was white apartment buildings once you pass the small downtown area.
Last Supper Chapel at Czestochowa
Gate entering Czestochowa
Gate entering Czestochowa
Tower at Czestochowa