PRESS RELEASE
The Bishop of Ostrava Apologizes to Our Lady of Czestochowa for the Scars on Her Face
On the Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Sunday, August 26th, during the celebration of the Holy Mass at the church of Our Blessed Virgin Mary in Ostrava, the ordinary of Ostrava-Opava, Bishop Frantisek Lobkowicz addressed Our Blessed Mother with these words:
"I would like to apologize to You, Mary, Our Lady of Czestochowa, on behalf of our predecessors, the Hussites, who have wounded you so."
The bishop recalled that the scars on Our Lady's countenance in the Czestochowa Icon were inflicted in the year 1430 when the Hussites attacked and plundered the monastery at Jasna Gora, in Czestochowa. The Czech Republic is known as the nation who walked away from its faith in God. The organizers of the Peregrination "From Ocean to Ocean" in Defense of Life notice that the gracious presence of the Icon of Our Lady is reviving the faith of the people. Priests, working in the Czech parishes, remark that they haven't seen such crowds in churches since 20 years ago, when the relics of St. Adalbert (pol. Wojciech) were peregrinating. This type of testimony of faith awakens great hope for the future. The Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, peregrinating across the world "From Ocean to Ocean" in defense of life, is currently visiting the Czech Republic, where "She" has arrived from Poland. The route of this special pilgrimage was begun on June 15th of 2012, in Vladivostok, Russia. As of this moment, the Icon has already travelled ca. 25 thousand kilometers across Russia (the Far East, Siberia, Ural, and Moscow), Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia, and Lithuania. In Poland, the Icon has overcome three and a half thousand kilometers. The next part of the route as of this point "from Vladivostok to Fatima" includes the following countries: Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, and Portugal. More information can be found at this website: http://www.fromoceantoocean.org/
Ewa H. Kowalewska
Coordinator for Europe