In the morning of August 22nd, on the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary, the Czestochowa Icon had arrived at the Lodz Cathedral assisted by the police and the motorcade of the Katyn Rally. Archbishop Wladyslaw Ziolek accompanied by approximately 100 priests, welcomed Our Lady. This meeting was mostly for the consecrated and religious.
Yet, many lay faithful also came to this event. They all formed a great crowd that filled the cathedral and praised Mary.
As everyone was gathered inside the cathedral, a terrible storm broke out with heavy rains and strong winds, but despite its fierceness, it did not harm anyone.
Exactly at noon, began the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass under the direction of the Archbishop Wladyslaw Ziolek, assisted by the large group of priests. Father Wieslaw Pyzio, Provincial of the Conventual Franciscan Friars Minor, delivered the homily. He drew attention to the fact that we are living in times of great opportunities and peace, but still feel hopelessness that our times bring. Humanity is falling into meaninglessness. This is the result of us losing our understanding of the meaning of life and comprehending who man is when we lose our faith in God. We live in the times of a concerted global attack of the culture of death, which raises fear. And so, on the one hand we have fear, but on the other we have great hope, which arises from our faith. Christ states clearly, "For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” (Jn 8:24) Life without God is life without hope and inadvertently causes despair. Mary is our hope and She has the great privilege of dispensing divine graces. Our meeting with Her is a great opportunity for our rebirth, so that our human existence could become dignified.
What virtues of old have remained with us today? – Only faith and the cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary and on this foundation the rest can be rebuilt – wrote Henryk Sienkiewicz in the Trilogy for the rejuvenation of hearts. Calling on St. Maximilian's words, the homilist ended his message with this quote: "Let us not be afraid of Love. We should desire love. As long as man will live with love in his heart, everything can change – as St. Maximilian would say.
The Holy Rosary meditation was being led by the religious sisters from various orders. After a solemn, full of emotion, farewell, Our Lady's Icon departed for Czestochowa.