The first miracle in post-war Poland

In July 1949, in war-ravaged Lublin, a phenomenon occurred that shocked both the local community and the communist authorities. Sister Barbara Sadowska noticed a tear of blood dripping from the image of Our Lady of Częstochowa, attracting crowds of believers eager to witness the miracle. However, the events quickly began to raise concerns among the authorities, who took steps to suppress the religious fervor. Conflicts between supporters and opponents of the miracle led to riots that significantly impacted the atmosphere in postwar Poland.

The year was 1949. War-ravaged Lublin was slowly rising from its ruins. The city's natural landscape was ruins, dug-up streets, exposed building foundations, piles of wire, and scaffolding. On July 3rd, Sister Barbara Sadowska, praying before a replica of the image of Our Lady of Częstochowa, saw something extraordinary: a tear of blood was rolling down the Madonna's cheek!

Sister Sadowska immediately informed the sacristan Józef Wójtowicz about the whole event, and soon afterwards the other priests as well.

Soon, the church was filled with crowds of believers from all over the city. As Father Tadeusz Malec later stated, the people's exultation, moaning, and weeping were so powerful that I, too, fell to my knees and, along with the people, was moved to tears... At 10 p.m., the priests, maintaining a profound skepticism, closed the main doors of the church and led the remaining believers out through the sacristy. However, the singing at the foot of the church continued all night.

Pilgrimages from outside Lublin arrived the next day. The line to see the miraculous image stretched throughout the Old Town, extending beyond the Krakow Gate. The story of the weeping Madonna was already being talked about in shops, on the streets, and in workplaces, while the BBC and Voice of America broadcast special reports.The authorities step in

The communist authorities were also agitated by the Poles' suddenly revealed religiosity . Militia patrols were deployed on the city's outskirts, and the PZPR City Committee dispatched a group of provocateurs . Bolesław Bierut and Joseph Stalin were kept informed about the events in Lublin.

All steps were immediately taken to suppress this incomprehensible phenomenon before the holiday falling in the second half of July. A statement from the Polish Writers' Union, signed by its chairman, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, read: "The Lublin Miracle was a deliberately organized demonstration against the communist regime ." The press also intervened, led by "Sztandar Ludo" and "Trybuna Ludu." A pamphlet, authored by journalist Jacek Wołowski and titled " A Supposed Miracle ," was printed, ridiculing the events in Lublin . According to the pamphlet's author, the miracle was orchestrated by enemies of the party. The main suspects are the episcopate and the reactionary clergy, while the executors of this diabolical project are paid functionaries of parishes .

The measures taken by the authorities, however, proved ineffective – more and more people flocked to Lublin. On July 8th, 8,000 people gathered in front of the cathedral, and on July 10th – 20,000. The head of the Provincial Office of Public Security (WUBP) wrote in a report dated September 28th, 1949: " When driver Adamczyk left Lubartowska Street and entered Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, he encountered a very large crowd of people. (...) After driving a dozen or so meters, he could no longer continue, as the crowd of religious fanatics refused to move out of the way (...)

On July 13th, a young student died in the cathedral square. According to the official version of events, she was struck by a falling roof tile. Panic erupted in the crowd, and the girl was trampled. It's possible this was a provocation by the authorities. Shortly after, another student, Janina Markiewicz, was arrested for distributing leaflets correcting false information published by the press When two forces clash...

The events at the cathedral square divided people into supporters and opponents of the Miracle . On July 17, participants in a protest rally concerning the Miracle clashed with a group of believers leaving the cathedral square. Red flags were displayed on one side, crosses on the other. From one side, chants of "Down with the clergy!" could be heard, while from the other, "We want God!" Clashes with the police ensued, during which 300 people were arrested.propaganda pamphlet reads: " At about the same time, when people brought to Lublin by pastoral letter were standing for hours in the cathedral square... in a deep excavation under St. Anne's Church in Warsaw, "Mostostal" workers, "Betonostal" workers, sewer workers, bricklayers, laborers, foremen, engineers, and scientists risked their lives to save the church... For precisely at that time, when a "miracle" that never happened was being assembled in Lublin, the foundations of a church became disturbingly visible on the WZ route... no priest came to the wives of those who fought underground, who stood on the escarpment with dry lips and sunken eyes waiting for their husbands' return... no rural people were brought there to see the toil with which Poland is being built today. No bishop's limousine passed along the WZ route..."

Well... in the Polish People's Republic, real miracles could only take place on the WZ route, in state-owned farms and during social activities