Shrine of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In Bołszowce, Ukraine, there is a monastery of Blessed Jakub Strzemię of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, picturesquely situated on a hill – the Franciscans – and the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – the Shrine of Our Lady of Bołszowiec.

Historical sources link the founding of the former church and monastery of the Discalced Carmelites – now the Franciscans – to the legend of the miraculous retrieval of an image of the Virgin Mary from the Dniester River by Hetman Marcin Kazanowski (1563–1636).

Bołszowce (also known as Bohuszowce) is situated in the Diocese of Lviv, in the Rohatyn District. In 1902, Father Wacław of Sulgostów (Edward Nowakowski) wrote: “In the local church of the Trzewiczki Carmelites there is a miraculous painting of the Mother of God, the history of which is as follows: Marcin Kazanowski, Castellan of Halicz (later Voivode of Podolia and Royal Field Hetman) in 1620, near Cecora, was taken captive by the Turks; disguised in a simple homespun coat and unrecognised, he was ransomed for a small sum; later, in 1620, or 1621, or 1624 (it is not certain), whilst in pursuit of the Tatars and crossing the Dniester by ferry, his dog, having spotted something in the water, leapt off the ferry, seized it and handed it to Kazanowski. It was an image of the Mother of God rolled up like a trumpet. Following this, Kazanowski routed the Tatars and ordered a thanksgiving service to be held before this image. He then built a wooden church dedicated to the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on his estate in Bołszowiec and founded a monastery of the Discalced Carmelites alongside it.” (“Historical, Bibliographical and Iconographic Information on the Miraculous Images of the Most Holy Mother of God in Poland by Father Wacław of Sulgostów, a Capuchin”, Kraków 1902, p. 58).

The foundation charter for the monastery was issued by Hetman Kazanowski on 23 February 1623. The church was consecrated in 1624, barely a year after its foundation. Built in haste, the church soon began to cause problems, and as early as 1648 it underwent its first comprehensive renovation. Subsequent repairs were necessitated, amongst other things, by the fact that the monastery complex was the target of attacks by the Swedes, Cossacks, Tatars and Turks. Following the last Turkish raid, during which they managed to carry the miraculous painting off to Lviv, the devastated church ceased to fulfil its purpose for several decades. The reconstruction was initiated by Colonel Jan Gałecki of the Crown Army in gratitude for a miraculous healing. The church was reconsecrated in 1725. On 15 August 1777, the miraculous painting of Our Lady of Bołszowiec was solemnly crowned. Prince Antoni Barnaba Jabłonowski donated a substantial sum to fund the decoration and artistic arrangements for the coronation of the image of Our Lady in the Carmelite church in Bołszowce, as well as for the paintings in the church. Ever since the coronation, crowds of the faithful have gathered before the miraculous painting every year on the feast of Our Lady of the Scapular – which falls on 16 July.

Another difficult period in the monastery’s history was during the First World War. In 1916, the church found itself on the front line; it came under fire and was partially burnt down. Later, it witnessed the Polish-Ukrainian and Polish-Bolshevik battles. The church was vandalised and looted right up until 1920. Major restoration work began in 1931 and was completed in 1938.

Conservation work
After the Second World War, the monastery complex fell into disrepair and ruin. The Carmelites took the miraculous painting of Our Lady of Bołszowiec to Lviv in 1945 and then on to Kraków. Today it is housed in St Catherine’s Church in Gdańsk. A copy of the miraculous painting is located in Bołszowce. Commissioned by the Archikultura Foundation in 2016, a new altarpiece was created for the Sanctuary in Bołszowce. It is a copy of ‘The Madonna and Child under an Apple Tree’ by Lucas Cranach the Elder, a painting which is thought to have served as the model for Our Lady of Bołszowce.

It was not until the late 1980s that the dilapidated church in Bołszowce was covered with sheet metal, and at the beginning of the 21st century, the monastic complex came under the care of the ‘Stary Halicz’ National Reserve. In 2001, an interdisciplinary research team from Poland joined the programme to save the monastic complex; the team comprises archaeologists, anthropologists, art historians, architects, conservationists and specialists in construction and geotechnical engineering.

Specialists from the Silesian University of Technology, the University of Wrocław and the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, amongst others, took part in the Polish-Ukrainian projects in Bołszowce. During excavations in 2006, archaeologists from Wrocław discovered the remains of Hetman Kazanowski. In 2010, the progress of the restoration work enabled the Franciscans to move from Halicz to the monastery in Bołszowce.

In recent years, the church has been included in a restoration project, carried out at the request of the Province of St Anthony and Blessed Jakub Strzemię of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual – Franciscans – as part of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage’s programme ‘Protection of cultural heritage abroad’. The conservation work on the paintings is being carried out by Aleksandra Trochimowicz. Funding for the restoration of the monastery comes from the Polish Senate and the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A Youth Centre for Peace and Reconciliation has also been established in Bołszowce. The Franciscan Fathers, in cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities and in consultation with the President of Poland, decided to establish the Youth Centre for Peace and Reconciliation in Bołszowce. This is one of the most important initiatives of the Franciscans in Bołszowce. Since 2002, Franciscan Youth Meetings have been held in Bołszowce. Pilgrims travel to the Shrine of Our Lady of Bołszowce from Lviv, Ternopil and other towns. The Youth Gathering lasts several days and is a retreat and evangelisation event organised by the Franciscans in collaboration with nuns, young people from Ukraine and volunteers from Poland.