Introduction

When I was still an infant in my mother’s arms, I was dedicated to the Blessed Mother. My mother was a devout Catholic of Polish American ethnicity and the Blessed Mother was especially venerated in this culture. According to my mother, in 1955 we traveled to Coraopolis, Pa where the “Mother House” was located or the abbess where the Polish nuns lived. I’m not sure what took place there but I have a picture of that event. In that photo, Sister Angeline is holding me and we are surrounded by my aunt, mother, brother, and cousins. I think that this is where my journey began, although I was an unaware participant.

My first acquaintance with the Black Madonna, a form of the Blessed Mother, was as a child at the fisherman’s cabin where my mother’s extended family vacationed. In one of the dark bedrooms, a portrait of the Black Madonna hung. I remember being drawn to it yet also afraid. I asked my mother who She was and she told me that She was Our Lady of Czestochowa, the patron saint of Poland. She could not explain why She had dark skin and slashes on Her face and looked scary. At the time, I didn’t explore any further.

Growing up at a primary Catholic school, each May was dedicated to the Blessed Mother. Every school day in the month, a different student would be “the child of Mary.” On that day, the student would dress up and bring flowers to the Virgin. On May 31 of that year, our third grade class had a May Crowning at which time a student from the class would be crowned “Queen of May as well as the statue of the Blessed Mother. My name was chosen from the 25+ pieces of paper drawn from a box. This was a special day for me but it also marked a turning point. In the years that followed, I became less interested in “Catholic” matters such as the latin mass, lives of the saints, and collecting “holy cards” of the saints. I no longer wanted to become a nun. In college, after 12 years of Catholic school, I became agnostic and no longer attended Mass.

Fast forward to 1986. I was pregnant with my daughter, Rebecca ,when I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. at the age of 31. It metastasized two years later. In my angst and fear, I began to have memories of my early interest in Catholic mysticism, especially the Black Madonna. On March 28, l988, I had the following dream:

Although I didn’t understand what the man told me in the dream, I was reminded of the slashes on the cheek of Our Lady of Czestochowa. They somehow seemed connected to “the cracks on my contact lens” from my dream. I began to research Her history and learned that She was the patron of Poland because she defended that nation from Swedish invaders in the 13th Century and in other invasions throughout Polish history.

I remained healthy in the years that followed. I combined exploring other spiritual interests such as Shamanism, the Tarot, and Native American Spirituality with Polish folk tales. When my mother died in 1991 from ovarian cancer, she implored me, “Donna, come back to the Church”

In 1992, when my daughter was ready for Kindergarten, I began attending mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church. I enrolled her in the parish school. I was/am not your “typical” Catholic. I continued to explore other mystical traditions, especially those associated with “the Black Madonna” like female shamanism. I discovered that Our Lady of Czestochowa was only one of the many Black Madonna forms. She is venerated throughout the world.

In 2008, I met my daughter in Europe. At that time, she was a junior at Berkeley and involved in study abroad. We visited Lourdes, France, Our Lady of Rocamadour, France and Our Lady of Montserat near Barcelona, Spain, all Black Madonnas except Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes interested me because it was a healing apparition.

In 2012, I returned to Europe with my family and visited the shrine at Our Lady of Czestochowa, Poland, and was able to view the original portrait that so captivated me as a child. We also visited other mystical sites such as Our Lady of Knock, Ireland, an apparition site of the Virgin, Mount St. Patrick, a famous pilgrimage site in Ireland, Newgrange burial site, an ancient landmark where a yearly solstice phenomenon takes place, and the Polish concentration camp, Auschswitz, a place of spirituality due to the suffering that took place there. All of these sites seemed connected to me to what I perceived the Black Madonna to represent. In the years that followed, I became familiar with most of the international forms of the Black Madonna. She remains dear to me due to being the patron of the underdog, the beacon of mystical teachings of the unknown throughout history, and a symbol of healing. She is my spiritual guardian.

In 2016, I began the group Soulful Seniors at the Jocelyn Center at the age of 62. I wanted to share my mystical roots with like-minded Seniors and encourage others to do the same.

In my next essay, and the ones that follow, I will begin to reveal the history of the Black Madonna throughout the ages, who She is, and why She is important to us today.