CROATIAN MARIAN SHRINES, the statue of the Mother of God of Bistrica

Croatian Marian shrines Mary is the mildness of the hereafter. She is the faith in the power of love to correct injustice. This is why her shrines on this Earth are called sanctuaries. The network of those sanctuaries is like a reflection of heavenly constellations. Croatia has an ancient network of its own, which has been visited by pilgrims for centuries. Croatian Post has decided to share the images of the most important of those shrines with the world by creating a series of stamps dedicated to this part of our spiritual and artistic heritage, as well as some of our greatest achievements in painting. The paintings and statues of Mary which are worshipped in those shrines have shared the trying history of its people, so they also stand witness to their difficult and persistent survival on the Croatian soil. The Croatian national shrine of the Mother of God of Bistrica in Marija Bistrica Our most famous Marian shrine is the basilica minor in Marija Bistrica. The town of Bistrica was recorded for the first time in 1209, while the first record of a parish with a church occurred in 1334. The building was certainly erected before this first record. Its medieval design was gradually given Baroque features, and in the late 19th century, the architect Hermann Bollé redesigned it as a romantic historicist complex, a picturesque sacral burg of sorts. The complex was also enhanced by the architect Stjepan Planić. The church surroundings have been affected through the installation of outdoor prayer spaces for thousands of pilgrims. Many artists have left their works of art in this shrine, from Ferdo Quiquerez, whose works can be found in the redesigned arched porch, to Krsto Hegedušić, Željko Hegedušić, Zlatko Šulentić and others, who were saved by the beatified Alojzije Stepinac in the Second World War. The Stations of the Cross next to the church were designed by our prominent modern sculptors (Kruno Bošnjak, Ante Orlić and Marija Ujević, Stanko Jančić, Josip Poljan and Ante Starčević), based on the idea put forward by Archbishop Antun Bauer and his bishop coadjutor Stepinac. In 1998, Pope Saint John Paul II visited Marija Bistrica, where he beatified Alojzije Stepinac. The statue of the Mother of God of Bistrica is a 15th-century Gothic wooden statue, known as the Black Madonna with Child. The cult of the black Madonna is present throughout Europe; these statues can be found in some of the most famous shrines, such as Loreto, Einsiedeln or Częstochowa. Some were originally black, and some have turned black over time, but they are worshipped as black. The symbology of those statues dates back to pre-Christian times, and they were accepted in accordance with the recommendation of Pope Gregory the Great concerning inculturation. To protect it from the Turkish invasion, the statue from Bistrica was hidden twice, in the 16th and 17th centuries, and it was not easy to find since it was buried under the church choir or built into a window; many fantastic legends attest to this. All the way through to today, this statue has been credited with granting many blessings, which makes it the favourite object of worship for the Croatian people.