On September 14, 1683, two shepherd boys investigating a light shining through undergrowth found a Madonna in a pear tree. The circular stone icon, carved in low relief, became an object of pilgrimage and the recipient of rich gifts from the Radziwill nobility. Catholics and Orthodox both claimed it. Both have translated the anniversary date into the modern calendar, but with a different reckoning. The Catholics, who venerate an image still at the original site in Poland, celebrate the feast of the Blessed Mother of Leśna on September 26. The Orthodox believe the original image is now at a convent in France, where it is honored on September 27. The Polish Madonna, Patroness of Podlasia, is enshrined in a baroque basilica built by the Pauline Fathers in 1727. Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński crowned it August 18, 1963. In 1981, the Vatican authorized a new liturgy for the Leśna Mother of God, and with it a new title: Mother of Unity and Faith. She has several traditional hymns, and the shrine sponsors an annual Marian song festival and contest.

Also celebrated this date:

	Notre-Dame de la Victoire, Tournai, Hainaut, Wallonia, Belgium (formerly)
	Notre Dame de Confiance, Annonay, Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. Monumental statue blessed, 1943.
	Iveron Mother of God, Tbilisi, Georgia. Icon arrived from Mt. Athos, 1989.
	Madonna della Salute, San Zenone degli Ezzelini, Treviso, Veneto, Italy (Madonna of Health). Statue crowned, 1959; commemorated first Sunday in October.
	Beata Vergine del Pozzo, Rome, Italy (Blessed Virgin of the Well). Stone icon found floating in well, 1256.

Where We Walked ~~~ Mary Ann Daly