Mariánský sloup a socha Panny Marie v exilu
The Marian Column and the Statue of Our Lady in Exile

Czech Catholic Exile in Chicago

Summary/Abstract: The article contains the history of the Marian column topped by the statue of Our Lady, later known as the statue of Our Lady in Exile. After the destruction of the Marian column containing the statue of Our Lady on the Old Town Square in Prague in 1918, persistent efforts by Czech Catholics to renew the statue of the Immaculate Conception occurred. These efforts culminated in 1955 when the Czechoslovak exile community in Chicago welcomed the statue of the Immaculate Conception into her exile on the grounds of the Monastery of St. Procopius in Lisle. There the statue became a pilgrimage site and a pillar of the spiritual life of Czech exiles in the Chicago area. The historical facts in the article are complemented by reminiscences and authentic testimonies of Czech exiles in Chicago, whose fates, both spiritually and in other ways, the statue significantly impacted and contributed to.

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