The Catholic Defender: Our Lady of Gietrzwałd (Gietrzwald) in Poland 1877
- Donald Hartley
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Your journey is to Our Lady of Gietrzwałd (Gietrzwald) in Poland, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in 1877 to young girls, asking them to pray the Rosary daily, a message that brought hope during religious suppression and received official Church approval in 1977, making it Poland's only approved Marian apparition site, sometimes called the "Lourdes of Poland".
From June 27 to September 16, 1877.
Near a maple tree by the church in Gietrzwałd, Poland.
To two teenage girls, Justyna Szafryńska and Barbara Samulowska, and later a 45-year-old woman.
The apparitions primarily occurred over a maple tree in front of the local parish church while the girls were praying the Angelus or the Rosary.
When asked who she was, the Lady replied in the local Polish dialect: "I am the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception". Her central request was for the faithful to "pray the Rosary daily".
"Pray the Rosary every day!".
Mary identified herself as the "Immaculate Conception".
She promised the end of religious persecution in Poland if people prayed fervently.
She blessed a spring, promising healing for the sick.
At the time, Poland was partitioned under foreign rule, and the Polish language was suppressed. Mary’s choice to speak Polish provided immense spiritual and national encouragement to the people.
Mary spoke in Polish, a language suppressed by German authorities at the time, a significant encouragement for the Polish people.
The apparitions were officially approved by the Catholic Church in 1977, on the centenary of the events, by Bishop Józef Drzazga.
Pope St. John Paul II presided over the celebration of this approval.
Gietrzwałd became a major pilgrimage site, offering solace and spiritual renewal, particularly for its message of perseverance and prayer.
On September 8, 1877, Mary blessed a nearby spring, which has since been associated with numerous reported healings, leading Gietrzwałd to be called the "Polish Lourdes".
The site is now a Minor Basilica and attracts approximately one million pilgrims annually.
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