On Holy Saturday April 19, Our Lady of Czestochowa returned to USA to spend the entire Easter holiday at St. Francis Borgia parish in the northeastern part of Chicago. She stayed also for Easter Monday, according to the Polish custom.
The Czestochowa Icon arrived on Tuesday of Holy Week, April 15th, at Brampton, the Canadian province of Ontario, northwest of Toronto. It was a long trip from Omaha through Nebraska - about fifteen hours long, but Our Blessed Mother's escort decided that it would be worthwhile to use a few "days off" during the Holy Week to make it possible for the Polish community of Toronto to meet Our Lady of Czestochowa.
When Our Lady of Częstochowa arrived at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas on April 10th, the Benedictine fathers and the students placed the Icon in the university chapel just before the student-led veneration. Fr West concelebrated the 5:00 PM Mass and the homily was given by Abbot James Albers, OSB, who connected the visit of the Black Madonna with the Rosary Service.
We arrived at St. Bernard’s Church in Omaha. Father Walter Nolte, pastor of St. Bernard’s, generously made sure that we had everything we needed to set up the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa inside his church.
Cedar Rapids is still recovering from the flood of 2008. The northern tributaries of the Mississippi overflowed six years ago, leaving 10 square miles of Iowa’s second largest city underwater.
Among the devastation were many houses of worship. We arrived at St. Patrick’s Parish and saw a beautiful stone church and adjacent office.
- A Time of Special Grace: the Black Madonna Visits Rock Island
- The Black Madonna Met with Enthusiasm at Holy Family Catholic Church.
- German Catholic Immigration to Northeast Iowa and the Magnificent Basilica in Dyersville
- The Black Madonna Visits a University Town for Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church Liturgy to Support a Culture of Life
- Black Madonna Connecting Parish Community of the Past to the Present at St. Stanislaus in Michigan City, Indiana.
- “Our Parish – Our Love”, St. Adalbert Parish in Berea, Ohio
- Lansing, the Diocese and the Capital City of Michigan, Benefit from the Visit of the Black Madonna
- Our Lady Visits Grand Rapids - The Second Largest City in Michigan
- Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish in Sterling Heights
- The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Lapeer and 40 Days for Life