Uprowadzenie kopii obrazu Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej pod Liksajnami w 1966 roku
Hijacking the copy of Our Lady of Częstochowa’s icon near Liksajny in 1966 in the light of the Security Service’s materials

Summary/Abstract: In 1966, after the period of Great Novena, the celebrations of the Millennium of Poland’s Baptism, organized by the Catholic Church, took place in Poland. One of the more important elements of the celebrations was the peregrination of a consecrated copy of Our Lady of Częstochowa’s icon. Communist authorities made various attempts to reduce the scope of church festivities by organizing a rival secular celebration for the Millennium of the Polish State. However, the peregrination of the image quickly became a “dangerous” element from the point of view of the authorities of the time, triggering religious enthusiasm and ardour in the society, resulting in mass gatherings of parishioners in front of churches, and unifying the faithful around the Church. Hence the state leadership’s decision to ban the peregrination. The authority that was supposed to enforce that decision was the Security Service, who were given the task of capturing the image by force several times. The arrest and capture of the icon in the Warmia diocese near Liksajny on 20 June 1966 was one of the most controversial, as it took place in the presence of Primate Stefan Wyszyński. Materials generated by the Security Service prove how extensive the measures used for the task’s execution were, and thus how significant the fight against the Church and its influence on society was for the authorities. At the same time, the society’s response to the actions of security agents described therein clearly show that that policy resulted in the opposite of the intended effect from the point of view of the state leadership.

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