Sanctuary of Our Lady of Consolation in Jodłówka

According to tradition, in 1680 a poor widow carried her child, bitten by an adder, up the hill, washed him with water from the spring below an image of the Virgin hanging on a tree – and the boy recovered. That story marked the beginning of devotion in Jodłówka, a village in the Pruchnik municipality in the Dynów Foothills of south-eastern Poland. Today the neo-Gothic Sanctuary of Our Lady of Consolation stands on top of St Mary's Hill (Góra Świętej Maryi), and its image was crowned in 1975 by Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II.

History: from a picture on a tree to a sanctuary

The image dates from the early 17th century and is the work of an unknown painter, probably of the Lviv school. Tradition says soldiers brought it from the Herburt family's castle in Dobromyl. Devotion grew around 1700: in 1724 Bishop Jan Krzysztof Szembek set up a commission to examine the reported graces, in 1731 daily Mass for pilgrims was permitted, and in 1774 Pope Clement XIV granted the chapel a plenary indulgence. In 1780 a brick chapel replaced the wooden shrine.

Work on the present church began in 1864 under Fr Antoni Gierad, and it was blessed in 1871; in 1907 Bishop Józef Sebastian Pelczar consecrated it. The wall paintings are by Zygmunt Wiglusz. The Second World War interrupted plans for a coronation – under the German occupation, holding a solemn service in the church could be punished by death. The image was officially recognised as miraculous in 1946 and crowned on 31 August 1975.

The image and its story

The picture measures 65 × 96 cm and is a copy of Our Lady of Leżajsk: Mary holds the Child on her left arm, and Jesus raises his right hand in blessing. The canvas was so damaged by damp and by votive offerings nailed to it that the figures were cut out and glued onto violet fabric on a wooden board. On the night of 21–22 October 1987 the gilded crowns were stolen; Pope John Paul II re-crowned the image in Rzeszów on 2 June 1991.

What to see

• the neo-Gothic church with its stepped gable and the image in the high altar,
• the spring on top of St Mary's Hill, whose water has long been considered healing,
• the Rosary Garden next to the sanctuary.

Tripto tip

The sanctuary's address is Jodłówka 307, 37-560 Pruchnik. Mass is said on Sundays at 7:00, 9:00, 11:00 and 17:00 (16:00 in winter) and on weekdays at 7:00 and 18:00 (17:00 in winter) – the easiest times to see the interior. Allow 30–45 minutes for the church and the spring. Pilgrim groups come on foot from nearby villages and by bike from Przeworsk, so feast days and early May can be busy. Note: the sanctuary lies in the Pruchnik municipality of Jarosław County, not in Przeworsk.