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Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn (Lithuanian Aušros Vartų Dievo Motina, Polish Matka Boska Ostrobramska, Belarusian Маці Божая Вастрабрамская) is the prominent painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of Mercy venerated by the faithful in the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The original painting is 163 x 200 cm and was painted by an unknown artist on 8 oak planks around 1630. The effigy was covered with silver and golden face around 1671 and on July 2, 1927 it was crowned with a double crown and entitled the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of Mercy.
Today this holy image is venerated by faithful of many countries, including Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, and their diasporas worldwide. In Lithuania there are 15 churches devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Gate of Dawn as well as Lithuanian parishes in New York, Montreal and Buenos Aires.
The Chapel of the
Gate of Dawn in
Vilnius, the location of the original painting of the
Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn
In Poland the biggest of the churches devoted to Our Lady of Ostra Brama is St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk. Other shrines of the holy icon are found in Białystok, Drogosze, Kętrzyn, Olsztyn, Skarżysko-Kamienna and Wrocław. There are also several Polish churches devoted to Our Lady of Ostra Brama in the United Kingdom (Kidderminster), USA (South River, NJ)), Australia.
