OSTROŻANY - Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Church
IN OSTROŻANY
The current church in Ostrożany was built in the years 1756-8. It was the third sacred place of worship, most likely due to the fact that its predecessor was built of inappropriate materials and therefore not safe. The new church was consecrated in 1783. This wooden, oriented church had two towers to the east and one turret on the roof. The roof was covered with shingles. The building was reinforced with vertical beams /lisice/ and weather-boarding in 1806.
The interior is divided into naves through two pairs of posts. The rood beam is decorated with figures of the crucified Christ, Our Lady and Saint John. The church also has two sacristies, one pulpit and a gallery. The building was refurbished several times, a tin roof was installed, it was electrified and also the interior decoration was renovated. Many antique elements with a long history have been preserved until today. One of them is the main Baroque altar, wood carved. Today it holds the painting of Our Lady of Ostrożany, but previously its main decoration was the scene of the Immaculate Conception (right now in one of the side altars). When visiting the church, you should pay attention to the sculptures of SS. Peter, Paul, John the Evangelist, Casimir, Adalbert, Florian, Joachim and Joseph. They all date from around the mid-18th century.
The side altars also deserve our attention. One of them holds a representation of St. Anne teaching Mary and the second of St. John of Nepomuk. Inside the church, we will also find antique and very rare feretories. These are special kind of paintings in ornamental frames that can be used to be carried by the faithful in procession and used in a ritual called “the feretory dance” (a tradition popular in Kashubia). The Ostrożany feretories are kept on the southern gallery, above the sacristy. Among them, one deserves special attention i.e. it is a bas-relief from the mid-18th century representing Our Lady the Immaculate on the obverse and Our Lady of the Rosary on the reverse. Both pictures are a bas-relief.
Another gem hidden inside the church is the Baroque, wooden pulpit in the shape of a fishing boat. It was executed at the end of the 18th century, whereas the beautiful 8-stop organ dates from 1819.
Since the 19th century, the church has been in possession of two reliquaries, one holds the relics of the Holy Cross and of St. John of Nepomuk, and the second those of St. Desideratus.
The most precious treasure of the church is the above-mentioned painting of Our Lady of Ostrożany, which appears in the inventory as early as the 17th century. The crown and the silver dress constitute its inseparable part as only the faces of Mary and Jesus together with the angels supporting the crowns are painted. The silver was obtained by melting down a part of votive offerings and this decision was made around 1766-1768 by the Janów Consistory. Its weight was estimated in 1895 at 12 kg. The crowns are gold plated and set with rubies.
Since 1666, the painting has been referred to in historical records as miraculous. In 1710, when the parish was preserved from the epidemic which raged in the region, it was decided to start keeping a register of miracles. On 5 July 1987, the painting was crowned by Primate Józef Glemp with crowns consecrated by Pope John Paul II.