Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Pilica

The painting before which pilgrims pray in Pilica-Biskupice measures just 37.5 × 25 cm, and according to tradition it was found in a roadside inn by a bishop who stumbled upon two boards that together formed an image of the Virgin. Today this small Italian copy of the Roman icon Salus Populi Romani wears crowns blessed by Pope John Paul II, and the Baroque Franciscan church that houses it is the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Protector of Families.

History: founded by a king's daughter-in-law

The friary was founded by Maria Józefa Sobieska née Wessel, owner of Pilica and widow of Prince Konstanty, son of King John III Sobieski. In 1739 she gave the Franciscans a plot called Pikoż on a hill in Biskupice, right next to the town; on 2 November that year the Bishop of Kraków, Cardinal Jan Lipski, approved the building, and in 1740 the foundation charter was signed at Pilica Castle. The friars moved in in 1745; the Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus was built in 1743–1746 and consecrated on 14 May 1747. In the 18th century the friary had a library and a school of philosophy and theology.

Hard times followed. In 1857 a fire destroyed much of the complex, and because friars had taken part in the January Uprising against Russian rule, the tsarist authorities ordered the friary closed – a closure carried out in 1902, although one friar lived on here until his death in 1915. The Franciscans returned on 30 October 1915 with the permission of the Austrian occupation authorities. In the Second World War the Germans looted the friary, and since 1946 the friars have run the parish.

The image of Our Lady of the Snows

According to tradition, the image first belonged to the foundress's brother, Augustyn Wessel, Bishop of Kamianets. Sobieska kept it in the castle chapel and, on leaving Pilica in 1753, gave it to the Franciscans. It is painted on alder boards; conservation studies date it to the 17th century and point to Italy. It is considered one of the oldest copies in Poland of the Roman original in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Gold crowns set with diamonds, made by Krzysztof Wrona of Brzesko, were blessed by John Paul II on 19 August 2002 in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, and on 15 June 2003 Bishop Adam Śmigielski of Sosnowiec crowned the image and declared the church a shrine.

What to look for

• The frame around the image's niche – made by Brother Martynian Wolski from inlaid pieces of a writing desk the foundress left to the friary.
• The silver-gilt cover on the painting, made from votive offerings in 1857, and the angels holding the image – probably 18th-century votive gifts.
• Baroque altars in the Régence style, 18th-century epitaphs and paintings by Szymon Czechowicz.
• The pilgrims' courtyard with a gate and chapels from the second half of the 18th century, plus maples, limes and ash trees planted around the walls in the 18th century – some of them are still growing.

Tripto tip

The complex is at Biskupice 47, on a hill right next to the old town limits of Pilica. Both church and friary are listed monuments. The easiest time to see the interior is just before or after Mass; the parish publishes its current service times on klasztor-pilica.pl. Since 2009 the shrine has had a special spiritual bond with the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, so pilgrims can receive the same indulgences here as in the basilica. Allow 30–45 minutes for the visit, and combine it with a walk around Pilica and its castle, in whose chapel the image was kept before 1753.