Our Lady of Ostra Brama

The history of Our Lady of the Dawn, who is also known as Our Lady of Ostra Brama, begins in 1386. In that year prince Jagellon of Lithuania married the Polish princess Jadwiga. She was the first to introduce Catholic practices in the Russian Orthodox kingdom. Even though the Orthodox of Lithuania venerated the Virgin in their liturgy and prayers, they were unfamiliar with the intensity of the Polish love and devotion for Mary. However, when it was first introduced by princes Jadwiga, the people of Lithuania welcomed it with open arms. Early in the fifteenth century, the new city walls of Vilnius were built. Above each of the gates the people of the town placed an image of the Blessed Virgin. About a century later, Carmelites took over one of the parish churches in the vicinity of the southeastern gate of the town. In the Lithuanian language this gate was commonly known as 'Auros Vartai' (the gate of dawn). The Polish speaking population knew it as 'Ostra Brama' (the sharp gate). The Carmelites are known for their special dedication to the Mother of Jesus. They took special care of the image that was placed above the gate near their church. When the army of Moscow set fire to the city of Vilnius in 1655, most of the town was destroyed in a fire that lasted seventeen days. However, the image above the Ostra Brama gate survived without any damage. This strongly encouraged the people’s devotion toward it and attracted many pilgrims from outside. Early in the eighteenth century there was yet another fire in Wilna. When the image survived once again, the Carmelite fathers built a special shrine chapel for it above the gate in 1706. Since that year, people come to this chapel daily to recite the litany of Loreto before the image. There are several things about the Virgin of the Gate of Dawn worth noting. One of the most unusual aspects are the crossed hands. In similar icons where Mary is depicted without the Child Jesus, she is normally in an oran position, the attitude of prayer, with arms and hands extended upward or towards Christ. Unusual too are the relatively large robe and veil. Since early Byzantine times, the Virgin has been depicted covered by a flowing floor length robe with a veil showing her hands, face, neck, and sometimes a small part of one ear. In the Ostra Brama icon though, the robe is unusually large. It can be said that the iconography of the image of Our Lady of Ostra Brama is Western, but with strong Eastern Orthodox influences. This is quite common in the Eastern European region, where there is often no clear division between Catholic and Orthodox Christian art. In 1927, after the renovation of the painting and the chapel, a formal ceremony was held in front of the Cathedral of Vilnius in which the icon was crowned. By a special command of Pope Pius XI, it was also given the title 'Mater Misericordiae' (Mother of Mercy). The chapel was renovated in 1931-1932. Since 1936 the Carmelites have been taking care of the shrine chapel again. During the Second World War, the Archbishop of Vilnius decided that the miraculous picture should stay in the town. During the Russian communist occupation of Lithuania the chapel of Ostra Brama remained open. The Mother of Mercy was a powerful symbol in the struggle for Polish and Lithuanian independence. Our Lady of Ostra Brama (Vilnius), Pray for Us!