The image of the Sorrowful Mother of God had been stolen twice from the local church – first in 1940 and then in 1990. Despite these unfortunate events, today it is placed in the main altar and worshipped by crowds of pilgrims who gather to admire it.
Some of the parish history
The complex of a parish church and the Sorrowful Mother of God Sanctuary is situated on a hill which dominates over Sulisławice. The beginnings of this Świętokrzyskie parish date back to the early 14th C. At first, the local temple had been consecrated in 1604. Today, in its oldest, western part, one can still find stonework marking called gmerk and a beautiful Romanesque entrance portal, the inside bears also certain late-Gothic features. A new Neo-Gothic temple was erected in the second half of the 19th C. and, for decades, it has been considerably enlarged. The funds for this undertaking came from the pilgrims’ donations and votives, a part of was also given for the November Uprising, as the parson donated 10 kg of silver for the rebels. During the German occupation, in the undergrounds of the church there was a secret print house of the newspaper “Odwet” (“Reprisal”), edited by the “Jędrusie” partisan troop - its leader, Władysław Jasiński, and some of his soldiers, who died on the 9th of January 1943, are buried on the local parish cemetery. In the sacristy one can see an exhibition devoted to this legendary partisan formation from Świętokrzyskie.
The Sulisławice Mother of God
The Sulisławice sanctuary’s object of worship is a miraculous painting of the Sorrowful Mother of God, also known as the Sulisławice Mother of God. It is arranged on a 22-cm square board, painted on the both sides. One side depicts the Mother of God with her suffering Son, while on the other there is the head of Christ on St. Veronica’s cloth. It represents the famous motif of Misericordia Domini, popular in Poland between 15th and 17th C. The work belongs to the Gothic painting of sądecka school. According to the records, it was found on a battlefield and the finder’s family donated it to the Sulisławice church. Probably, it had been a property of a knight who was carrying it with him during his journeys. At first, the painting was placed in an old Romanesque church, but in 1888 it was transferred to the new Neo-Gothic temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Nativity. The worship of the image of Mother of God started in the 17th C. and, after a thorough investigation of the miraculous events and graces taking place in its presence, it has been acclaimed by bishop Andrzej Trzebicki. The painting has been enthroned twice – first in 1913 and, then, in 1991. There are also many dramatic twist connected with these facts - during WWII the crown of the painting had been stolen, while the picture itself was stolen in 1992. Fortunately, it got back to Sulisławice two years after the second robbery, after being found in one of the Warsaw parishes.
A local pilgrimage centre
Since 1951, the sanctuary has been under the custody of the Resurrectionist Order. The temple is also known as the “Częstochowa on the Sandomierz land”. Numerous groups of pilgrims, also those from outside the Świętokrzyskie region, come to participate in the main ceremonies taking place on the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Nativity Day and on the Pentecost. The sanctuary, together with the nearby church, are of great historic value, thus, the conservators make endeavours to preserve the complex. Unfortunately, the building is partly made of sandstone which is an unsuitable material, quickly absorbing water, so now the object is in a very poor condition. Due to this, intensive restorative actions, mainly conservation of the surface and installing a construction relieving the strain in the damaged elements, have been lately undertaken to prevent the demolition.
The sanctuary is especially worth visiting during the festivals. Night watching can be a really unforgettable experience.
