About the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Jaworzyńska, Queen of the Tatra Mountains:
In 1841, 14-year-old shepherdess, Marysia Murzanska, was tending sheep in Rusinka. The girl, having lost her sheep, ran into the forest, asking Our Lady to help her find them. Then she was startled by the sight of unusual light shining from a spruce tree, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared.
The Blessed Mother promised the worried Marysia that she would find her sheep immediately, and made a request to her: that the young shepherdess leave her employment in Rusinowa Polana, to protect herself from spiritual danger. The girl was also instructed to admonish people not to sin and to do penance for their wrongdoing.
The wooden building here was built in 1930’s. It is typical of the construction here in the Tatra Mountains: a completely wooden building with a sloping roof and a wide portico all across the front.
Outside, on a spruce tree, there’s a plaque on the exact spot of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s reported apparition.
There is a spring next to the chapel, whose waters are credited with miraculous healing properties. It was found by another shepherdess, Marianna, who reported having obeyed Our Lady’s revelations in a dream.
One man who loved to ski in the Polish Tatra Mountains was Pope Saint John Paul II. We sometimes forget how young (by papal standards) and active Pope John Paul II was earlier in his Papacy. Born in 1920, he was only 58 when he became Pope in 1978. Most of his predecessors had been in their 70’s.
It was Pope John Paul II who entrusted the pastoral care of this shrine to the Dominicans in 1975.
Traveling to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Jaworzyńska, Queen of the Tatra Mountains:
The sanctuary is about 50 miles south of Krakow and, as mentioned above, is also a popular ski area, so there may be bus service from Krakow.
Address: Wiktorówki 1, Małe Ciche 34-531 Murzasichle
Tel.: +48 18 201 98 50 mobile: +48 534 852 191
e-mail: wiktorowki@dominikanie.pl