Man Throws Paint At Mary Icon

[BG45]

Man throws paint at 'miracle' Virgin Mary Icon in Poland

 

 

 

AFP - Polish police detained a 58-year-old man Sunday after he threw vials of black paint at the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, an ancient Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary believed to work miracles.

 

A protective pane of glass over the painted protected it from any damage, local police spokeswoman Joanna Lazar told reporters.

 

Guards at the monastery in the southern city of Czestochowa had quickly overpowered the man responsible and handed him over to police, she added.

 

The detained man had been questioned and was expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, Lazar said. His name has not been released.

Lazar added that he could be charged with offending religious sentiment, an offense punishable by up to two years in prison.

 

"The faithful have been calling us crying to ask what happened," monastery spokesman Father Robert Jasiulewicz told the news agency PAP.

"We've reassured them that the painting is intact."

 

Many people in Poland, which is 90-percent Catholic, believe the icon holds special powers.

 

Every August, thousands of Poles make a spiritual journey to the monastery, a tradition that goes back to 1711 when the bubonic plague decimated Warsaw's population.

 

When the epidemic suddenly ended, a brotherhood of knights trekked from the capital to the monastery to offer thanks to the Virgin Mary.

 

The relic has since enjoyed a cult following at home, and its international reputation was boosted by the late Polish pope John Paul II who was deeply devoted to the icon.

 

 

[Nihil Obstat]

It is so sad that some of our most famous icons and statues have to be protected in this way. Same thing with Michaelangelo's Pieta. Better to protect them than to allow them to be attacked, but it feels kind of wrong regardless.

[Lil Red]

:( glad it was protected.

[i<3franciscans]

Thank goodness the icon is okay! My heart sank when I read the first sentence.

[DiscerningCatholic]

People are crazy. One of my friends said that when she lived in Nashville, her church had a perpetual Adoration chapel that was open at all hours of the day until they had to put in a door with a passcode after some freaks came in and defaced the chapel. :cuss:

 

On another note, "holds special powers"? Might they have phrased that a bit better...?

[Selah]

On another note, "holds special powers"? Might they have phrased that a bit better...?

"Wonderworking" may have been better

[OnlySunshine]

Oh gosh!  I was freaking out until I read that it was protected.  Praise God that it didn't come to any harm.  Why do people do this?!?  I can only assume they are under the devil's influence...  :sad:

[BG45]

I'm with you all, I was freaking out too until I saw it was protected. :(

[eagle_eye222001]

Lazar added that he could be charged with offending religious sentiment, an offense punishable by up to two years in prison.

 

Interesting.  "Offending religious sentiment."  That sounds a tad ambiguous.

 

Third degree vandalism would work better I would think.