Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń

Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland, in Licheń
Bazylika Matki Bożej Bolesnej Królowej Polski w Licheniu (in Polish)

Front view of the Basilica
Basic information
Location Licheń Stary, Poland
Geographic coordinates 52°19′24.00″N 18°21′28.80″E / 52.3233333°N 18.3580000°E / 52.3233333; 18.3580000Coordinates: 52°19′24.00″N 18°21′28.80″E / 52.3233333°N 18.3580000°E / 52.3233333; 18.3580000
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Province Diocese of Włocławek
Country Poland
Year consecrated 2004
Architectural description
Architectural type Church
Architectural style Postmodern
Groundbreaking 1994
Completed 2004

The Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland, in Licheń [ˈlixɛɲ] is a Roman Catholic church located in the village of Licheń Stary near Konin in the Greater Poland Voivodeship in Poland. It was designed by Barbara Bielecka and built between 1994 and 2004.[1] The construction was funded by pilgrims' donations.[2] With a tower measuring 141.5 meters in height, it is one of the tallest and largest churches in the world.

History

The history of the foundation of the church dates back to 1813, when Tomasz Kłossowski a Polish soldier fighting under Napoleon near Leipzig was seriously wounded. He invoked Our Lady, begging her not to let him die in a foreign land. According to legend, she appeared to him wearing a golden crown, a dark red gown, with a golden mantle, and holding a white eagle in her right hand. She comforted the soldier and promised he would recover and return to Poland.[3] Tomasz was instructed to have an image of her made, and to place the image in a public place so that My people will pray before this image and shall draw many graces at My hands in the hardest times of trial.[4]

With the nave 120 meters long and 77 meters wide, with a central dome 98 meters high, and with a tower 141.5 metres tall, it is Poland's largest church and one of the largest churches in the world. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland whose icon, perhaps dating back to the 18th century, is displayed in the basilica's main altar. It is one of Poland's principal pilgrimage sites.[5]

Pope John Paul II blessed the Basilica in 1999.[6] In 2007 parts of the Polish museum in Fawley Court were translocated to the shrine by the Marian Fathers.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Basilica - SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF LICHEN Sorrows IN OLD". SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF LICHEN Sorrows IN OLD. Retrieved February 2016. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. ↑ The Guardian; June 20, 1998. Texnews.com Archived February 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ "The Virgin of Lichen", The Mary Page, University of Dayton
  4. ↑ Thomas, William. "Our Lady of Lichen, Poland", Catholic Voice, June 21, 2009 Archived December 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ Moved by Mary: The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern World by Anna-Karina Hermkens, Willy Jansen, Catrien Notermans 2009 ISBN 0-7546-6789-8 page 99
  6. ↑ Vaticanwebsite: John Paul II at Lichen
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