Poland’s Black Madonna shrine attracted 3.6 million pilgrims in 2023

The Black Madonna shrine in the southern Polish city of Częstochowa attracted 3.6 million pilgrims in 2023. According to the shrine’s press office, the number is 1.1 million higher than in 2022. 

The Jasna Góra monastery in Częstochowa, Poland.

By Jerzy Szota - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28582367

Some 87,000 arrived at the site on foot, as well as in organised groups of runners, cyclists and horse-riders.

Foreign pilgrims came from 71 countries.

In 2016, the year of the visit by Pope Francis for the Roman Catholic Church’s World Youth Day, the site was visited by a record 4.5 million pilgrims.

The Black Madonna sanctuary, with its Pauline monastery, is one of Europe’s most popular Catholic shrines.

Jasna Góra Monastery, Częstochowa, Poland which houses the Black Madonna Shrine. Established 1382 pic.twitter.com/2Wa67hJKDV

— Pictures of Churches (@ChurchPictures8) July 27, 2016

(mk/pm)