Witheren

Marian Valley Shrine, 2541 Beechmont Rd, Witheren QLD 4275, about one hour South of Brisbane, Queensland, a copy of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

the Black Madonna of Czestochowa,
Queen of Poland

I don’t know of any original Black Madonnas in Australia, but the Queen of Poland, Our Lady of Czestochowa, goes with her people wherever they immigrate to or where Polish missionaries go. In Australia they have both, lay immigrants and missionaries. Some of the latter are the Pauline Brothers, the custodians of Marian Valley shrine and the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in Penrose Park near Sydney. Their order that was founded in 1250 by Blessed Eusebius of Esztergom, Hungary (Hungarian: Boldog Özséb) and named after St. Paul the First Hermit (Paul of Thebes c. 227 – c. 341). A highlight in the Order’s history occurred in 1382 when they became the custodians of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, believed to be painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. The Icon was brought to Poland by Prince Ladislaus from a castle in Biez, Russia. He invited the monks to come from Hungary into Poland to safeguard the holy picture. As a result, the monks established a Shrine for the venerated image of the Blessed Mother in the small town of Czestochowa (pronounced as chen-sto-hova). Today this Shrine is the Motherhouse of the Order and is the largest monastery with over 100 priests and monks. It is seen as the spiritual capital of Polish Catholics and is visited by more than 4 million pilgrims each year from all over the world. promote devotion to their queen wherever they go. So naturally, when building a new shrine, she becomes the center of it. Here in Marian Valley, the main Chapel is known as the Black Madonna Chapel.

Google any Catholic diocese of a major city + Polish masses and you’ll find churches that very likely honor this Black Madonna with a copy of her miraculous icon. Here for example is the list of such churches in Sydney.

Marian Valley offers a Retreat Center, St Joseph’s Hermitage, which provides an opportunity for extended solitude, prayer and spiritual renewal. Accommodation (self-contained) is available for small groups, couples, families and individuals.

Like its sister shrine in Penrose Park, Marian Valley also honors Australian immigrants from around the world with individual chapels to their national Mary images. Here the Tongan and the Indonesian chapels.