Basilica of St Anne in Kodeń (Shrine of Our Lady of Kodeń)

The Basilica of St Anne in Kodeń (say KO-den-yuh) is a late Renaissance church with a Baroque facade, home for more than 300 years to the icon of Our Lady of Kodeń, called the Queen of Podlasie and the Mother of Unity. It stands on the market square of a small town on the Bug River and is one of the most important Marian shrines in eastern Poland, nicknamed the Częstochowa of Podlasie. If you are driving the Lublin Renaissance Trail or planning a pilgrimage, it is a rewarding stop.

History and the legend of the painting

The church was built between 1629 and 1635 in late Renaissance style for Mikołaj Sapieha, on the site of a wooden church from 1599. According to the shrine's tradition, the seriously ill Sapieha traveled to Rome, was healed before a painting in Pope Urban VIII's private chapel and wanted to take it home. The pope refused to give it away, so Sapieha obtained the painting from the sacristan for money and fled with it to Kodeń. For this reason the shrine's own website calls it the "stolen" Madonna.

Swedish troops plundered the church in 1657, a fire broke out in 1680, and it was consecrated again in 1686. The Baroque facade dates from 1709. The painting was crowned with papal crowns on 15 August 1723. The church has been a minor basilica since 1973. From 1875 to 1917 it served as an Orthodox church, and since 1927 it has been run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

What to see

• The painting of Our Lady of Kodeń, 128 by 223 cm, on the high altar. It is unveiled during services.
• The interior, with an oval dome decorated in stucco and three aisles. Most furnishings are newer, since the old ones were scattered after 1875.
• Relics of St Felix at the altar of St Stephen (a skull believed to be that of Pope Felix I).
• The Kodeń Calvary with the Church of the Holy Spirit on the site of the former Sapieha castle, plus the castle ruins where the Kałamanka stream meets the Bug.
• An 18th-century bell tower and the wall around the basilica.

Practical information (as of October 2026)

• Admission: free; it is a working shrine. Visit outside Mass if you want to look around quietly.
• Masses (May 1 to October 31): Monday-Saturday 7:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m. (for pilgrims, with a talk on the shrine's history from 10:00) and 6:00 p.m.; Sundays 8:00, 10:30 a.m., 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m., plus 10:00 a.m. at the Calvary.
• Masses (November 1 to April 30): Monday-Saturday 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.; Sundays 8:00, 10:00 a.m., 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m.
• The painting: from May to October, half an hour before the 10:30 Mass the image is unveiled and the shrine's history is told.
• Groups: register at the monastery gate; you can request a priest-guide or a lay guide for the Calvary and castle ruins.
• Main feast days: 2 July, 14-15 August (the biggest), 8 September and 26 July.
• Contact: ul. Rynek 1, 21-509 Kodeń, tel. +48 83 333 17 71, oblaci@koden.com.pl. A pilgrim house and a canteen operate by the shrine. Information is mostly in Polish, and I could not confirm English-language services.

Getting there

Kodeń is on the Bug River, about 33 km straight-line from Biała Podlaska and about 180 km east of Warsaw. Driving is easiest; check parking near the square and bus timetables online. Plan 1.5 to 2 hours, including the Calvary.

Nearby

The Sapieha castle site and the Calvary are in the same complex. The Lublin Renaissance Trail continues to other sites, and the Radziwiłł complex in Biała Podlaska is a short drive away.