Marian devotion
Our Lady of Kazan
Russia's Protective Icon
The icon of Our Lady of Kazan is one of the most venerated Marian images in the Slavic world, held by Russian protector. His devotion has also spread to Catholics through ancient copies.
Origin and history
According to tradition, after the great fire of Kazan in 1579, the Virgin appeared in a dream to a girl named Matrona indicating where an icon was hidden; digging among the ruins, they found it intact under a stove, wrapped in a canvas. The icon was taken to Kazan Cathedral, where its fame as miraculous was spread, especially by cures of the blind.
Historically, the icon soon became a symbol of the protection of the Mother of God over Russia, invoked in battles and critical moments. The original disappeared stolen in 1904; copies have since been venerated. One of them, very esteemed, arrived in the West, was venerated in Fatima and given to St. John Paul II, who in 2004 made her solemnly return to the Russian Orthodox Church.
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