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Thousands of women honor Mary as tradition unites generations
Grandmothers, mothers, daughters, and granddaughters have made pilgrimages to Our Lady of Piekary for generations, bringing their intentions and family stories. Pope Leo XIV greeted the pilgrims during his Angelus address in Castel One of the participants, Dominika Szczawińska, told Vatican News: “I used to come here as a young wife, praying for a child, then as a young mother, and today I am the mother of teenagers.”
By Fr. Łukasz Bankowski
“Women need one another,” Dominika Szczawińska told Vatican News. She has been taking part in the Piekary pilgrimages for more than 20 years. For her, women’s support, sensitivity and empathy are important both in spiritual life and in everyday experience.
“Grandmothers, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, and friends come together here. Teenagers come too,” she said.
Over more than two decades, Szczawińska has experienced successive stages of her own life here — from marriage and praying for a child to motherhood. For her, Piekary is a place to give thanks, to ask for help and forgiveness, and to spend time together with other women.
Women in Piekary Śląskie (© Henryk Przondziono /Foto Gość)
A tradition woven into the history of Silesia
Separate pilgrimages for women and men have been an important part of the religious identity of Upper Silesia for decades. Fr Rafał Skitek, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Katowice, recalled the words of Cardinal August Hlond, who said that anyone wishing to understand the soul and faith of the Silesian people should come to Our Lady of Piekary.
Karol Wojtyła had particularly strong ties to the shrine. As Archbishop of Kraków, he visited Piekary many times, preaching homilies and meeting pilgrims. Later, as Pope John Paul II, he continued to send greetings from the Vatican to those taking part in the pilgrimages.
“For decades, the Gospel of work has been proclaimed here,” Fr Skitek said. In the communist era, Piekary became an important place for teaching about the dignity of workers, their rights and responsibilities, and the principles of Catholic social teaching.
Archbishop Andrzej Przybylski in Piekary Śląskie
Called to great things
Welcoming the pilgrims, Archbishop Andrzej Przybylski, Metropolitan of Katowice, presented Mary as a model of female dignity.
“No one has the right to hurt or humiliate you. Every one of you is called to great things, and above all to holiness,” he told the women.
The central event of this year’s gathering is a solemn Eucharistic celebration presided over by Archbishop Zbigniew Zieliński, Metropolitan Archbishop of Poznań. Once again, women of different ages have made their way to the shrine, combining personal prayer with a tradition that has shaped the religious landscape of Upper Silesia for decades.
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