St. Adalbert’s Black Madonna may be oldest

(click to view full image)

(By Charlie Penasack) St. Adalbert’s painting of Our Lady of Czêstochowa, commonly referred to as the “Black Madonna,” may very well be the oldest painting of the Blessed Mother under this title that exists in the Western Hemisphere. According to St. Adalbert’s 50th Anniversary Book, compiled in 1937, this painting was brought to America by the Felician Sisters when they arrived from Poland 75 years earlier. This, however, would place the date of its arrival in the United States at approximately 1861, when in fact the first Felicians to arrive in the United States did so in 1874, settling in Polonia, Wisconsin.

The order itself was established on Nov. 21, 1855, when Blessed Mary Angela, who was known as Sophia Truszkowska, and her cousin, Clothilde Ciechanowska, dedicated themselves to God’s service before an icon of Our Lady of Czêstochowa. In 1882, the Felician sisters transferred their motherhouse from Polonia, WI, to Detroit, MI.

In 1893, the Chicago World’s Fair, also known as the World’s Columbian Exhibition, was held to celebrate Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the New World. To commemorate this event, which has been referred to as “The Fair That Changed America,” the Felician Sisters and their pupils at St. Albertus Convent in Detroit created this exquisite rendering of the Black Madonna, adding embroidery, gems, and an elaborate frame to the painting, which was sent to Chicago to be displayed.

[read full story at AM-POL Eagle…]