Birutės str. 5, Trakai
www.trakubaznycia.lt
www.seniejitrakai.lt
www.piligrimukelias.lt
In 1409, Vytautas built a church in his native Trakai in honor of the Visitation of Mary (feast was July 2, now is May 31). This church became famous for its portrait of Mary and Jesus, which tradition says was donated by Vytautas himself. The icon was given to him by the Emperor of Constantinople, Manuel Paeleologus II, as a present for becoming Christian. Legend says that this same icon was brought to Constantinople by the Emperor John II Comnenus, in 1118, after the defeat of the Persians
In Trakai, this picture soon became well-known for its miracles. This icon of the Mother of God is said to be the first and the oldest known in Lithuania for its miracles. Within forty years, many votives offeringsIn (medallions, hearts and body parts in silver) from grateful people covered the walls where the picture hung. Some miracles have been recorded; in 1645, the pastor then, Simonas Mankevicius announced that twenty-three miracles were attributed to the miraculous Madonna.
One miracle happened in 1643; a small boy drowned in Lake Galva, and the parents brought the child’s body to the altar of the Madonna. Miraculously, the boy revived.
Reports of miracles at the church soon spread to White(Belanus) Russia, Ukraine and Prussia. Pilgrims soon started to appear from distant countries, seeking health for body and soul.
The title of “Protectress of Lithuania” was given to Our Lady of Trakai when, through her intercession, people survived a plague in 1603. Processions would be planned yearly from Vilnius to Trakai to seek intervention from the Mother of God.
During the war with Moscow in 1611, Queen Konstancija came to the Shrine to pray to Our Lady for King Zigmantas Vaza’s safety and victory over the Russians. Victory ensued!
It is very interesting that in 1629, Bishop Eustachijus Valavicius wrote in his report to the Holy See, that “God has favored us with many miraculous portraits in Lithuania of Our Lady, but the many miracles at the Shrine of Our Lady of Trakai brought many people closer to each other and to their God.”
In 1718, the bishop of Vilnius, Konstantinas Brzostovskis, decided to pay homage and have the icon of Mary and Jesus crowned with the blessings of the Vatican. In 1717, the crown for the Lady’s head was donated by the Lithuanian Chancellor, Leonas Sapiga, and the crown for the Infant’s head was given by the Lithuanian vice-chancellor, Aleksandras Narusevicius.
When the portrait of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn became famous, the Trakai icon began to be forgotten, though the records show that the miracles never ceased. A book recording the miracles was written in Polish; forty-two miracles were recorded from 1783 on. One example in the twentieth century happened on February 15, 1902. The mayor of Trakai, Konstantinas Pradevicius and his wife, Emilija, claimed that their daughter recovered from an incurable illness, due to Our Lady’s help. The girl had diphtheria and doctors said that death was imminent. The worried parents came to pray before the icon and their daughter was cured.
