The Jasna Góra Sanctuary in Częstochowa is one of Europe’s most important Marian pilgrimage sites. Every year, pilgrims from all over the world come here — including visitors from the United States: Polish Americans, tourists, diplomats, and even soldiers. But what can feel truly “close” and concrete for a traveler from the U.S. (or for anyone looking for American connections in Częstochowa) — especially in the year marking the 250th anniversary of American independence? It turns out that at Jasna Góra, U.S. history is not only told — it is sometimes recorded in objects, visits, and gestures, forming a continuous thread from the 18th century to the 21st.
A hero of two freedoms
Jasna Góra’s “Marian address” in the American story begins surprisingly early — even before the United States existed. During the Bar Confederation (1768–1772), the monastery became a symbol of resistance to Russian dominance. And it is here that the Polish struggle for freedom intersects especially strongly with the future American Revolution.
In 1770, Jasna Góra was taken over by the confederates, and at the turn of 1770/1771 it was besieged by Russian forces. Accounts emphasize the role of Casimir Pulaski as one of the key figures of the confederation and an important organizer of the defense efforts around the fortress — a place that carried both spiritual and strategic meaning.
After the defeat of the confederation, Pulaski was forced to leave the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. That’s when the second part of his story begins — the American chapter. He reaches the colonies fighting for independence and quickly becomes one of the best-known foreign officers in the Continental Army. In the American narrative, he endures as a man who brought European military experience to a young army, helped shape cavalry tactics, and formed his own unit (Pulaski’s Legion). He was killed in 1779 during the fighting at Savannah.
The Kennedys at Jasna Góra
Some names draw attention instantly — and “Kennedy” is one of them. In this story, Jasna Góra returns not as a backdrop, but as a place American political figures wanted to see in person — and sometimes, to leave something behind.
Regional sources and accounts of the Kennedy family’s travels note that on September 25, 1955, John F. Kennedy (then a U.S. senator) visited Jasna Góra, and that a signet ring left as a votive offering is preserved and displayed in the monastery treasury. It is one of the most tangible American “touchpoints” on site — a small object, yet heavy with symbolism. That visit also carried a deeper meaning: during what was then his second trip to Poland, seeing Jasna Góra firsthand offered Kennedy — an American Catholic — a vivid glimpse of the Catholic Church’s moral authority and social strength under communist rule. In the atmosphere of the People’s Republic of Poland, the sanctuary functioned not only as a place of devotion, but also as a public sign of spiritual resilience and a community that could not be easily absorbed by the regime.
The next chapter is June 30, 1964 — Robert F. Kennedy’s private visit to Poland. American archival and photographic descriptions explicitly mention his visit to Jasna Góra and a meeting with Poland’s Primate, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. This matters because it shows that the visit was not merely a “tourist curiosity,” but an event noted beyond Poland as well.
1976 and America’s jubilee at Jasna Góra
Some anniversaries echo far beyond a country’s borders. That was the case in 1976, when the United States marked the 200th anniversary of the nation’s founding. A Jasna Góra chronicle entry (published through outlets connected with the sanctuary) records that a pilgrimage of representatives of the U.S. bishops’ conference came to Jasna Góra, performed an act of entrustment of the country to Mary, and offered a commemorative votive gift.
This is a special point in the story because it is an “anniversary within an anniversary”: in Poland — a sanctuary with centuries of tradition; in the U.S. — a young nation celebrating its bicentennial. Such a gesture (entrustment and a votive offering) suggests that Jasna Góra was viewed as an internationally meaningful place: a point where gratitude and a plea for protection could be expressed even for a country an ocean away.
Soldiers on the road — a living U.S. presence on the pilgrimage route
If someone is looking for “American traces” not only behind glass, but in the living rhythm of Jasna Góra, this thread is especially compelling. The contemporary world has brought international military pilgrimages onto the Jasna Góra route — and among them are soldiers from the United States (as a part of NATO).
Reports from these pilgrimages highlight their international character and the presence of service members from multiple armed forces, including the U.S. One account (from 2012) includes a very concrete detail: it gives the number of American participants and notes that a U.S. military bishop was expected to join along the route. More recent reports continue to emphasize that soldiers of many nationalities walk together, with the United States listed among the countries represented.
The World Trade Center cross — memory after September 11
Some symbols need no long commentary. One of the strongest material American elements at Jasna Góra is a cross made from fragments of steel from the World Trade Center. Sources describe it as a memorial and a sign of remembrance; they also mention an accompanying commemorative medal and the role of firefighters connected with the rescue efforts after September 11.
Black Madonna on the American screen
In American movies, the Black Madonna returns with surprising regularity — sometimes as a subtle prop, other times as a clear reference point for a character’s identity and spirituality. A strong example is The Secret Life of Bees (2008). While the story centers on an African American reception of the Madonna figure, the character of August Boatwright (played by Queen Latifah) explicitly points to the motif’s European roots and names Częstochowa directly. In one scene she notes that Europe holds “hundreds” of dark-skinned Madonna images, among the oldest Marian depictions, and adds that the best-known is Our Lady of Częstochowa in Poland, often found in Gothic cathedrals — frequently in crypts. In doing so, the film not only places the Black Madonna within an African American spiritual imagination, but also “routes” the viewer back to the European icon tradition, with Jasna Góra as its most recognizable reference point.
The motif also appears in newer biographical and documentary-style projects. In Melania (released in 2026), a brief shot shows an image of Our Lady of Częstochowa in a moment where Melania recalls her relationship with her mother and her own Catholic experience of faith.
In a more direct devotional register, Jasna Góra and the icon function as an interpretive anchor in faith-based cinema: in Triumph of the Heart (about St. Maximilian Kolbe), the Marian image becomes a recurring spiritual “center of gravity” for the protagonist. A similar role appears in television biography. In the Pope John Paul II (2005), starring Jon Voight, the Częstochowa/Jasna Góra motif is repeatedly foregrounded as a key element in Karol Wojtyła’s religious formation — and, more broadly, as a shorthand symbol of Polish Marian devotion echoed across later documentaries and biographical films.
Doylestown — “American Czestochowa” on the other side of the Atlantic
At the end, it is worth reversing the perspective. If we can find American connections at Jasna Góra, then in the United States there is a place created precisely so that the Jasna Góra tradition would have a spiritual home across the ocean: the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown (often called “American Czestochowa”).
The shrine’s own materials and Pauline sources describe it as a pilgrimage center important to Polish Americans and to the American province of the Pauline Fathers, with a history reaching back to the mid-20th century.
In practice, it is “the other side of the same coin”: Częstochowa in Poland draws Americans, while Częstochowa in the U.S. helps America (and the Polish diaspora) maintain a living spiritual link with the original.
There’s nothing like coming to Częstochowa and seeing it for yourself — how these American traces at Jasna Góra live on in one place, and how close this story feels on both sides of the Atlantic.
The material was prepared by Dr. Bartosz Stuła - Jasna Góra guide/volunteer
