The original of the holy image of Our Lady of Ostrabrama is housed in the chapel of the Dawn Gate of Vilnius, Lithuania.
The original painting is 163 x 200 cm
and was painted by an unknown artist on 8 oak planks around 1630. It
was covered with silver and gold around 1671. The head of Our Lady is
adorned with two crowns. Two little angels lower the crown with
colored glass inlays upon the smaller crown. The two crowns, made of
pure gold, were blessed by Pope Pius XI in 1927. On July 2, 1927 a
coronation ceremony took place and the painting received the title of
Mother of Mercy.
The painting is an unusual portrayal of Mary since she is depicted without the infant Jesus.
The painting depicts the many facets
of Mary. Her head is gently leaning to her right, her eyes are half
closed, her hands are crossed in devotion. This reminds us that she is a
virgin, humble servant of the Lord, merciful mother and patron of the
people. At the same time, her head is surrounded by sun rays and her
body is covered in elaborate gold and silver clothes and crowns. These
are the symbols of her divine and majestic role as the Queen of Heaven.
The history of Our Lady of the Dawn,
who is also known as Our Lady of Ostra Brama, begins in 1386. In that
year prince Władysław Jagiełło (1351 – 1434) of Lithuania married the
Polish princess Jadwiga. As part of the contact for marriage Jagiełło
pledged the conversion of the Lithuanian people to Christianity. The
marriage resulted in the joining of Poland and Lithuania into a
Commonwealth of Nations. With the advent of Christianity, Marian
devotions were introduced by princess Jadwiga.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
(or The Commonwealth of the Two Nations, Rzeczpospolita Oboja Narodów in
Polish) was a federal monarchy-republic formed by the Kingdom of Poland
and Grand Duchy of Lithuania and which was governed by an elected
monarch.
Due to frequent attacks on the
Lithuanian lands from the Tartars and regular conflicts with the Grand
Duchy of Moscow, in 1503 Grand Duke Alexander of Lithuania granted the
city of Vilnius a privilege to build fortifications of brick and stone
around the entire city. The Gate of Dawn was built between 1503 and 1522
as a part of these defensive fortifications for the city of Vilnius. It
has also been known as the Medininkai Gate, as it led to the village
Medininkai south of Vilnius.
In the Lithuanian language this gate was
commonly known as ‘Auros Vartai’ (the gate of dawn). The Polish speaking
population knew it as ‘Ostra Brama’ (the sharp gate).
Of the nine city gates, only the Gate of Dawn remains, while the others were destroyed.
Above each of the gates the people of
the town placed an image of the Blessed Virgin. in the 16th century
city gates often contained religious artifacts intended to guard the
city from attacks and to bless travelers. About a century later, the
Carmelite Order took over one of the parish churches in the vicinity of
the southeastern gate of the town.
In 1655 the army of Moscow set fire
to the city of Vilnius and most of the town was destroyed. The fire
lasted seventeen days. However, the image above the Ostra Brama gate
survived without any damage. This strongly encouraged the people’s
devotion toward it and attracted many pilgrims. Since then it is
considered a miraculous symbol of Lithuanian and Polish independence.
Between 1671 and 1761 seventeen more
miracles attributed to the Lady in this image were chronicled. One story
tells of a boy who fell from the second floor of a building and died.
When his mother prayed before Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn he revived.
In 1702, when Swedes occupied
Vilnius, it was forbidden to worship the icon publicly and to gather in
the street. During the liberation fight of the gates, the icon of Our
Lady was damaged by a shot. In 1711 the Chapel holding the image burned
completely, but not before the miraculous painting was carried out of
the fire by a young monk. For 20 years, the painting resided in the
Church of St. Teresa. A new Chapel was subsequently built by the gate
and the miraculous painting was reinstalled with great ceremony.
In 1799 Russian forces began to destroy the walls and gates of Vilnius. Inexplicably the Ostra Brama gate was left untouched.
In 1829, the chapel took on the style
of the late Classicism. The chapel was built so that the faithful could
pray in front of it in the street, because the entrance to the chapel
was from the monastery's garden, and lay people, especially women, were
not allowed to enter there. During the reconstruction work in 1828-1829,
the side windows were enlarged to reach the floor level.
The chapel was renovated in
1931-1932. During the Second World War and the Nazi German occupation of
Lithuania the Archbishop of Vilnius decided that the miraculous picture
should stay in the town. During the Russian communist occupation of
Lithuania the chapel of Ostra Brama remained open.
On September 4, 1993 Pope John Paul II said The Rosary at the Gate of Dawn Chapel.
Prayer to The Mother of God of Ostra Brama Mother of Mercy
From St Faustina Maria Kowalska’s Diary
“O Mary, my Mother and my Lady, I offer you my soul, my body, my life and my death, and all that will follow it. I place everything in your hands. O my Mother, cover my soul with your virginal mantle and grant me the grace of purity of heart, soul and body. Defend me with your power against all enemies, and especially against those who hide their malice behind the mask of virtue (79). Fortify my soul that pain will not break it. Mother of grace, teach me to live by God’s power (315).” “O Mary … a terrible sword has pierced your holy soul. Except for God, no one knows of your suffering. Your soul does not break; it is brave, because it is with Jesus. Sweet Mother, unite my soul to Jesus, because it is only then that I will be able to endure all trials and tribulations, and only in union with Jesus will my little sacrifices be pleasing to God. Sweetest Mother, continue to teach me about the interior life. May the sword of suffering never break me. O pure Virgin, pour courage into my heart and guard it (915).”
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