Nuestra Señora de Janów Lubelski (Poland)

Marian devotion

Where is he?

The shrine of Our Lady of Graces and the Rosary is located in Janów Lubelski, Poland. The coordinate is maintained with precise location: the cartographic object consulted identifies the relationship of Janów Lubelski, but does not allow to attribute to the complete polygon the exact position of the collegiate and the image. A coordinate of the original chapel and the precise place where traditional visions are located is not invented.

Documented history

The official history of the sanctuary places the origin of devotion in the accounts of 1645. The source itself distinguishes the testimony of Wojciech Boski, the proceedings of the parish priest Walamy Dąbrowski and the commission sent to examine what was said. In 1647 he began the construction of a small chapel in the place associated with the visions and later the Zamoyski family placed there an image of Our Lady of Graces with the Child. The image continues to be linked to the present sanctuary.

The development of the place led to the foundation of a church and a convent for the Dominicans. The historical page of the sanctuary separates two large periods: the Dominican custody between 1660 and 1864 and the later stage, since 1867, under the diocesan clergy. The suppression of the convent in 1864 is part of the religious and political history of the region; it is not presented as an element of the foundational legend.

The image was crowned with papal crowns in 1985, following the efforts initiated by the sanctuary and the diocese before the Holy See and the Polish Episcopal Conference. The coronation page retains the preparatory process and the celebration. The coronation documents the recognition of the public cult of the image, but should not be confused with an automatic approval of each account of apparition or of every grace in the books of the sanctuary.

Tradition

According to the tradition preserved by the sanctuary, Wojciech Boski saw the Virgin on November 2, 1645, with two candles and two angels, and received a message that the glory of God and the memory of Mary should be celebrated there. The account tells a second view on December 8 and other light signs observed by two fishermen in 1646. The official source also transmits the content of ancient ecclesial research; this fact sheet presents it as a history of the record and of the cult, without turning every detail narrated into a modern test of supernatural.

The books of graces and miracles are part of the documentary memory of the sanctuary and the historical research of its veneration. This allows us to study devotion, exvotes and pilgrimage practices. It does not allow to state, without reviewing each case, that all recorded cures have a canonical miracle or a conclusive medical test.

Legend and limits of the record

The oldest tradition speaks of lights, heavenly processions and Mary's intervention. The file respects these narrations within its own sections. It is not claimed that there is a contemporary pronunciation of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith that has declared the set of apparitions supernatural, nor is an exact coordinate assigned to the phenomena narrated.

Ecclesial State

The state is stated as permitted venerationThere is a public Catholic sanctuary, a crowned image and a documented liturgical and pilgrim life. The source of the sanctuary recounts the historical commission and the expansion of the cult, but it is not used here to affirm a supernatural approval with the current category. Mary is venerated as the Mother of Jesus and her intercession is requested; worship corresponds only to God.

Anecdotes and stories

Janów Lubelski retains a special relationship between the memory of the image, the expansion of the city and the pilgrimage routes. The processions came from localities in the region and devotion was expressed through vows, liturgical celebrations and thanksgiving books. The transformation of an initial chapel into a conventual complex and then into a sanctuary attended by the diocesan clergy shows the continuity of a devotion through political and religious changes.

Prayer

Holy Mary, Mother of Graces, pray for those who seek God in the midst of their needs. Help us to discern with humility, to thank the goods received and to follow Jesus Christ with a faith that loves the truth. Amen.

Sources

• Santuario de Janów Lubelski, history, HTTP 200.
• Janów Lubelski Sanctuary, Coronation of the Image, HTTP 200.
• OpenStreetMap, relation 1954682, Janów Lubelski, HTTP 200.

A devotion that went through historical changes

The succession of custodians explains an important part of Janów Lubelski. The passage of the Dominicans to the diocesan clergy after the suppression of 1864 did not interrupt the memory of the image or the prayer of the pilgrims. The source of the sanctuary also retains books and graces, which are valuable for studying the social history of devotion: they show what the pilgrims expected, how they formulated their vows and how the community transmitted the stories. To study these records does not amount to declaring each case a miracle.

The title of the Rosary is part of the identity of the sanctuary along with that of Our Lady of Graces. The celebrations, processions and vigil place Marian devotion within the liturgy of the Church. The fact sheet maintains the necessary care with the visions of 1645: the existence of the cult and historical research can be affirmed, while the degree of supernatural approval must be expressed only when there is a sufficient and applicable ecclesial source.