Events

MINSK, 15 April (BelTA) - Pope Francis decided to send Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who is the chairman of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, as his Special Envoy for the celebrations in honor of the 400th anniversary of Budslav Icon of the Mother of God, BelTA informs with the reference to the Belarusian service of the Vatican Radio.

“Cardinal Tauran is a well-known and authoritative Vatican hierarch who for decades has worked in the Roman Curia. He has held the posts of the Secretary of the Holy See for relations with the states, the archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church,” informed the Vatican Radio. Cardinal Tauran informed the world about the election of Pope Francis.

The celebrations in Budslav will be held on 5-6 July.

Budslav Icon of the Mother of God is one of the most revered icons of the Catholic Church and is known for many miracles. It was created by an unknown artist in 1649. It is kept in the Church of Ascension of the Mother of God in the village of Budslav, Myadel District.

According to some historical accounts, the Mother of God miraculously appeared in this place to the Bernadine monks in 1588, though most historians believe it happened in 1613. The first owner of the icon was Minsk voevoda Jan Pac who converted from Calvinism to Catholicism. He got the icon during his pilgrimage to Rome in 1598, from the hands of Pope Clement VIII.

During the war between the Rzeczpospolita and the Russian Empire in 1654-1667, the icon was temporarily moved to Bialystok. By the end of the 19th century the number of pilgrims decreased but since the early 1990s the pilgrimage movement has again revived. Since 1991 Belarus has welcomed regular pilgrims to the icon. The coronation ceremony for the icon-legend was held in 1998. In a solemn atmosphere Cardinal Kazimierz Swiatek laid Pope’s Crowns on the icon. Since then, the icon has become a national sanctuary.