Lumen 2018

The painting was brought to Warsaw from Rome in 1651 by the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop John de Torres, as a gift from Pope In- nocent X to King John Casimir. Since the Piarist Fathers were the ones spreading the cult of Our Lady of Grace, the king solemnly pre- sented them with the picture, which was to be kept in their church on Dluga Street. A magnificent altar was built, in which the blessed icon was placed on March 24, 1651. The papal nuncio adorned the picture with a gold crown studded with pearls — a gift from the peo- ple of Warsaw. Participating in this special celebration were the royal couple and the crowds of prayerful citizens of the city. And it was then that Warsaw, so tormented by the epidemic, experienced Mary’s protection: the epidemic in the city soon ended. 228 In the same year, a Confraternity of Our Lady of Grace was established at the church of the Piarist Fathers. Its members invoked Mary’s protection against diseases and every calamity. 229 When the wooden church of the Piarist Fathers burned down during the war, their new rector, Fr. James Wezyrka, who arrived from Rzeszow, obtained the permission of the Provincial Superior, Fr. John Franco, and the permission of the Bishop of Poznan, Albert Tholibowski, and laid a cornerstone for a new church. John Gebicki, Bishop of Plock, officiated at that ceremony on July 18, 1660, with King John Casimir in attendance. The king wanted this church to be his votive offering in gratitude for the victory at Cudnow and, from then on, Our Lady of Grace was to be called Our Lady of Vic- tory. Little by little, the Church of Our Lady of Grace (or of Vic- tory) was rising. Out of its nine altars, the fourth one was dedicated to the Madonna of Grace. Many years later, a stone statue of the Madonna of Grace with broken arrows in her hands 230 was placed on the coping of the church’s facade. When another epidemic broke out in Warsaw in 1664, the mu- nicipal board ordered that special expiatory prayers be organized be- fore the icon of Our Lady of Grace. A solemn procession with the icon proceeded to the city walls and to the Nowomiejska [New Town] Gate. When the epidemic ended, Our Lady of Grace from S TANISLAUS P APCZYNSKI 134