ASTANA (UCAN) -- Catholics from Astana who walked 60 kilometers to honor an image of the Blessed Mother and seek her blessings knew the way well.

Some of the marchers had made the annual pilgrimage to Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in Kamyshenka 13 times before, mainly to see a replica of the famous Mother of God of Czestochowa image, "Black Madonna," that is kept in Poland.

The parish Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral here in the capital organized the journey that began on Aug. 25, when a group of 50 or so people began processing from Novoishimks village, 40 kilometers north of Astana.

Before setting off to Kamyshenka, 60 kilometers further north, they were asked to make clear the intention for which they would make the pilgrimage.

People prayed the rosary and sang Marian hymns as they walked. They stopped for the night along the way and reached their destination the next day, Aug. 26, Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

Another 20 people took off also on Aug. 25 but from Astrakhanka village, and they also had to cover about 60 kilometers before reaching Kamyshenka.

The pilgrimage tradition began after a Polish teacher reportedly carried a copy of the Black Madonna image from Poland to Kazakhstan in the early 1990s. When the church there was dedicated to Our Lady of Czestochowa in 1994, Catholics walked 100 kilometers from Astana in three days to attend. Since then, pilgrimages have been arranged every year to mark the feast day.

The origin of the image in Poland is uncertain. Tradition has it that Saint Luke, said to have died in the year 84, painted the original on the cypress top of a table used by the Holy Family, though modern scholars date it to the 13th or 14th centuries. Whatever its origin, the picture was taken to Beltz, now western Ukraine, and then on to Czestochowa in Poland.

The image is believed to be miraculous and to have protected Polish defenders against attacks by Swedish and Russian forces over the centuries.

The expression "Black Madonna" refers to the black color of Mary's face, a coloration some attribute to a fire and others to the combined effect of millions of wax candles that worshippers lighted in front of the image.

During communist rule in Poland from 1945 to 1989, the Black Madonna symbolized the country's struggle for freedom. In 1991, Czestochowa hosted an international World Youth Day celebration for 1.6 million young Catholic participants, and Poland's late Pope John Paul II was there.

As in the past, this year's pilgrimage to Kazakhstan was long and hot, but the pilgrims were grateful for the opportunity.

The youngest was 9-year-old Alena Verbitskaya, who joined other participants from Astana in Zeleny Gaj village, where they rested for the night. "It was very hard for me to walk, but I did it despite the difficulty to help my grandfather," she told UCA News. Her grandfather, who walked with her, suffers from diabetes and has lost one leg.

Oksana, 26, prayed to Mary especially for her father, who recently survived a heart attack. However, she also asked for a special grace she needs to make an important decision. She told UCA News she must choose between two young men, "which of them is more suitable to be my husband."

For Dmitriy from Astrakhanka, the pilgrimage offered "spiritual relief and conciliation." The 16-year-old college student wants to become an electrician and he hopes the Blessed Mother will help him reach his professional goal.

In Kamyshenka, all participants attended the feast-day Mass at Our Lady of Czestochowa Church. Father Karlo Yellichi, the pastor, told UCA News, "It is a big joy that pilgrims from other parishes can take part in our celebrations."

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