Black Madonna ShrineBronislaus Luszcz (1893-1960)

Status

Extant

Address

84-108 St Josephs Hill Rd, Pacific, 63069, United States

Visiting Information

The Shrine is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, contact Sr. Mary Francis, 636-938-5361; by email: shrine1olc@aol.com.

About the Artist/Site

In 1927, Bronislaus Luszcz immigrated to the United States from his native Poland. Ten years later, this Franciscan brother built a chapel in the Ozark Hills near Eureka, Missouri to house an icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, the beloved “Black Madonna” of his homeland.  After completing the chapel, he began building grottoes dedicated to “Mary and the saints.” Using concrete and native Missouri tiff rock acquired from the nearby mining town of Potosi, Brother Bronislaus constructed seven grottoes altogether, which he embellished with colorful rocks, jewelry, colored glass, ceramic figures, and seashells, many brought to him by visitors. The chapel was destroyed by fire in 1958, but Brother Bronislaus worked on the site for the rest of his life

~John Foster

Contributors

Map & Site Information

84-108 St Josephs Hill Rd, 63069 us
Latitude/Longitude: 38.417023 / -90.6819054

Nearby Environments

Sorehead Hill

West Fulton, MO

Trail of Tears Memorial

Arlington, Missouri

Rockome Gardens

Arcola, Illinois

Garden of Eden

Springfield, MO

Jubilee Rock Garden

Brimfield, Illinois

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