Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn

''Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn'' ( lt, Aušros Vartų Dievo Motina, pl, Matka Boska Ostrobramska, be, Маці Божая Вастрабрамская, german: Mutter Gottes vor den Toren der Morgenröte, ua, Богородиця біля брами світанку, russian: Остробрамская икона Божией Матери) is the prominent Christian icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by the faithful in the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Lithuania. The painting was historically displayed above the Vilnius city gate; city gates of the time often contained religious artifacts intended to ward off attacks and bless passing travelers.

The painting is in the Northern Renaissance style and was completed most likely around 1630. The Virgin Mary is depicted without the infant Jesus. The artwork soon became known as miraculous and inspired a following. A dedicated chapel was built in 1671 by the Discalced Carmelites. At the same time, possibly borrowing from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the painting was covered in an expensive and elaborate silver and gold riza, leaving only the face and hands visible.

On 5 July 1927, the image was canonically crowned by Pope Pius XI. The chapel was later visited by Pope John Paul II in 1993. It is a major site of pilgrimage in Vilnius and attracts many visitors, especially from Poland.

History

The legend tells that in 1702, when Vilnius was captured by the Swedish army during the Great Northern War, ''Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn'' came to her people's rescue. At dawn, the heavy iron city gates fell, crushing and killing four Swedish soldiers. After this, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army successfully counter-attacked near the gate.

It is believed that the painting was commissioned by the government of Vilnius. It was customary to place paintings or sculptures of various saints in niches of walls hoping that they would protect the building. The governor of Vilnius ordered two paintings, one depicting Christ the Saviour (''Salvator Mundi''), and the other the Virgin Mary. Both of them decorated the Gate of Dawn of the Vilnius city wall – a defensive structure with no religious importance at the time. The painting of Christ decorated the exterior of the gate, while that of the Virgin was in the same place as it is now – a small niche, protected by shutters from rain and snow. Narrow and steep stairs led to a small balcony where the faithful could light candles and pray. In 1650, Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz published ''Miscellanea'', listing all miraculous paintings of Mary, but did not mention ''Our Lady of the Gate of the Dawn''.

In the mid-17th century the Discalced Carmelites built the Church of Saint Teresa and their monastery near the Gate of Dawn. In 1655, the city was captured, looted, and depopulated during the Battle of Vilnius of the Russo-Polish War. It was likely that the city government, short of funds, transferred maintenance of the gate and the paintings to the Carmelites. The painting of Christ was moved to the Carmelite monastery and later to Vilnius Cathedral (a fresco of Jesus was painted in its original niche in the 19th century; it was uncovered in 1976). In 1671, the monks built a wooden chapel to Our Lady next to the gate tower; it was around the time that the painting was covered in expensive silver riza. By then, the painting was already an object of public veneration and the chapel dedication ceremony was attended by many prominent figures of the time including Chancellor Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac, Grand Hetman Michał Kazimierz Pac, and senators of the general sejm.

In May 1715, the wooden chapel burnt down, but the painting was saved and placed in the Church of St Teresa. In 1720, the current brick chapel was dedicated in the presence of four bishops, a number of senators, and a large crowd of the faithful. In 1761, the monk Hilarion published ''Relacja o cudownym Obrazie Naijświętszej Marji Panny etc'', the primary source for the painting's early history and also the first collection of various miracles attributed to it. In 1773 Pope Clement XIV granted an indulgence to the faithful, designating the chapel as a place of public worship, and established a charitable society. At the turn of the 19th century, Tsarist authorities demolished the city wall and all the city's gates, except the Gate of Dawn and its chapel. In 1829, the chapel underwent restoration and acquired elements of late Neoclassicism. Since the entrance to the chapel was from inside the Carmelite monastery, women could not go inside. Because of this, one female devotee sponsored the construction of a two-storey gallery on the side of the street in 1830.

In 1927, major restoration works were completed under bishop Romuald Jałbrzykowski. With permission from Pope Pius XI, the painting was solemnly crowned ''Mother of Mercy'' on 2 July 1927 by the Archbishop of Warsaw Alexander Cardinal Kakowski. The ceremony was attended by President Ignacy Mościcki, First Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, Primate of Poland

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases