Between 18 and 19 November 2025, at the shrine of Częstochowa, the Night Vigil of the Province of Poland took place. The shrine, known as the spiritual capital of Poland, is very important for Catholics because of the Marian devotion linked to the icon of the Black Madonna.
As the Provincial, Fr. Mateusz Pindelski, explained, there are several reasons for this gathering. The first idea arose during the second edition of the Piarist Charism Days, celebrated for the whole Province in October 2024. Our special intention for this vigil is to give thanks for having entrusted the whole Province to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This act took place on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception last year.
There is also a historical circumstance. On 9 July 1642, a group of Piarists fleeing the Thirty Years’ War from the Piarist presences in Moravia, by order of Saint Joseph Calasanz, set out for Poland and here, in the shrine of Jasna Góra, met King Ladislaus IV and the nobles around him. Among them was Jerzy Ossoliński, who founded the college of Podolínec (currently in Slovakia and, at that time, under the Crown of Poland). It was precisely here that, at the request of the king of Poland and in his presence, the superior of this group, Fr. Onufry Conti – who later became the first Provincial of the Province of Poland – celebrated Holy Mass before the very image of the Virgin Mary.
This date, 18 November, was set by the Pauline Fathers, custodians of the shrine, as we believe, by the Providence of God, since in our Order we commemorate today all the saints of the Pious Schools.
The programme, carefully prepared by Fr. Mateusz Kaźmierski, made it possible for children, young people and adults to take part, as everything began at 9:00 p.m. and ended around 4:00 a.m. About 200 people took part, among them the Piarist Sisters, led by Mother Urszula Kwaśniewska; 22 Piarists, mostly parishioners from the Piarist parishes; as well as representatives of our students and teachers from the schools in Poland, plus a group from our parish presence in Zólochiv, Ukraine.
The Vigil began with the solemn Marian act called in Polish “Apel Jasnogórski”, which has been repeated every day for more than 100 years at 9:00 p.m., not only in the shrine itself, but also in other places both inside and outside the country. In his introduction, the Provincial said:
“We thank you for having gathered us today before your image, us, pilgrims linked to the pedagogical charism and the spirituality of Saint Joseph Calasanz: Piarists and Piarist Sisters, teachers and educators, parents, parishioners and, especially, children and young people. Almost four centuries ago, here before your altar, you welcomed the first Piarists, who, by the will of the king of Poland, came to open the first schools in the Commonwealth. We thank you because, for almost four centuries, the Calasanctian charism has spread through Lithuania, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary. We commend to you all those who today take part in education, above all parents and families: grant that they may contemplate the model of your Holy Family, so that they may build, with confidence, a strong bond of love founded on faith. We commend to you educators, teachers, all those who serve children and young people in education in order to form them towards fullness in Christ. Grant that they may enjoy the recognition they deserve, that they may carry out their work with freedom of conscience and that they may receive a remuneration in keeping with the responsibility that rests upon them. We commend to you in a special way catechists and all those who bear witness to the faith in the field of education. Strengthen those who are being put to the test, implore God’s blessing upon the fruits of their work and grant that they may reach, with the Gospel of truth and hope, all those who are indifferent, in despair or lost. We beg you to stop those who harm children and young people through false teaching, bad example, violence and abuse, but also through scandal, slander and bad decisions. Grant them the grace of conversion and penance.”
In his talk addressed to the young people, Fr. Dominik Bochenek stressed that Mary shows a simple, short and safe way that leads to Jesus. It is worth choosing it, just as our parents teach us the simplest, shortest and safest way to go to and return from school. The spirituality of Mary is, for every Christian, even for children and young people, like a transparent crystal that magnifies and brings closer the image of the world.
Throughout the night there was time for community and personal prayer, for the rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Chaplet of the Twelve Stars, as well as for singing and silent prayer.
At the Eucharist celebrated at midnight, Fr. Piotr Recki asked: “Why is the image of Mary called the Black Madonna?” And he gave several answers: the image has blackened because of the smoke of the candles and incense that have been burning here for centuries; the colour black can symbolise contemplation and humility; the Mother of God always remained in the shadow of her Son; in her we see a luminous Mother who gave birth to the Light.
To conclude, in the early hours of the morning, the Provincial thanked all the participants and renewed the act of confirmation to Our Lady, who was, is and will be for us the Mother of the Pious Schools.
P. Jaceck Wolan, SchP
