Current Catholic Church in TL & Hisotry

Here is a link to the current Catholic church website for Tomaszow Lubelski: https://diecezja.zamojskolubaczowska.pl/parafie/parafia-zwiastowania-najswietszej-maryi-panny-sanktuarium-mb-tomaszowskiej-tomaszow-lub ***** The website also includes information about the history of the church. ***** Historical view ***** The parish was established in 1621. The present wooden parish church was built in 1727. The original one was founded in 1627 by the ordinate Tomasz Zamoyski. Rebuilt in 1727 and renovated after the destruction of World War I and II. In 1832, it was consecrated by Bishop Józef Marceli Dzięćlski. Church of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Tomaszów, is one of the most valuable monuments of sacred wooden architecture in Poland. There is a miraculous painting of Our Lady of the Scapular in the temple. The church has a log structure on a brick foundation. It was built on a rectangular plan with a straight-ended presbytery and a wooden choir. The façade is crowned with two square towers topped with cupolas. The interior of the church is decorated with elements of the 18th-century polychrome on the nave walls, the rood beam and the choir sill. There are marbling on the pillars and cornices. Extremely valuable elements of the equipment are: a baroque rood beam with a crucifixion group from the first half of the 17th century and a pulpit, a stone baptismal font, rococo stalls and confessionals. The mannerist main altar dates back to the 17th century. In its lower part there are relics of St. Felix and the miraculous image of Our Lady of the Scapular. ***** The cult of Our Lady in Tomaszów, venerated in the image of Our Lady of the Scapular, dates back to the 17th century. According to sources, an unknown person placed the painting in 1652 in the chapel of St. Wojciech, located in Przedmieście Lwowskie. From the sandy hill on which the chapel stood, the place was called "na Piaski". The chapel was in the place where the townspeople of Tomaszów, in 1636, erected a statue as an expression of the extraordinary presence of God, where "pious persons ... saw unusual light, processye by Angels, burning candles and torches in the air, as signs that she chose this place for herself. for the apartment of the Blessed Virgin Mary ". The image of the Mother of God quickly found publicity as famous for its graces. The Swedes retreating from Zamość in 1656 destroyed the chapel and took the image of the Mother of God to a military camp. A Swedish soldier was carrying the painting under the saddle, but when his horse fell, he tore it in anger and abandoned it. ***** The desecrated painting was found and taken home by two noblewomen from Tomaszów. With time, they moved to Lviv, and placed the image of the Tomaszów Lady in the furrier chapel of the Latin cathedral in Lviv. Soon, votive offerings followed him. After a few years, when the chapel destroyed by the Swedes was rebuilt in Tomaszów (1662), the townspeople asked for the miraculous painting to be returned. Ultimately it happened thanks to the support of Archbishop Wojciech Koryciński. The image of the Mother of God returned to its former place, and in the furrier's chapel, silver votive offerings remained as evidence of his presence there. The image of Our Lady of Tomaszów left the chapel again in 1672. In the face of the threat from the Turkish army, the townspeople took the painting to the Zamość fortress, from where it returned after the war to the parish church, and then to the chapel in Piaski. ***** In view of the growing cult of the image, a brick church was built in the years 1721-25 in Tomaszów's Piaski in order to provide better service to pilgrims. Its founder was the castellan of Kiev, Józef Potocki, who was asked to save his life during the war riots in front of the Tomaszów painting of the Mother of God. In 1727, Trinitarians were brought to Tomaszów and they settled at the church in Piaski. The monks looked after the place of worship of Our Lady of Tomaszów and St. Adalbert until the dissolution of the redemption in 1783. After the dissolution of the order, the church furnishings together with the miraculous image of Our Lady of Tomaszów were transferred to the parish church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where it remains to this day. The year 1994 was extremely important in the history of the Tomaszów Sanctuary, which was proclaimed the Year of Our Lady of Tomaszów in the Zamość-Lubaczów diocese. At the request of Jan Śrutwa, Bishop of Zamość-Lubaczów, who came from the parish of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the centuries-old cult of Our Lady of the Scapular in Tomaszów Lubelski was confirmed by the "papal brief" of John Paul II on February 2, 1994, allowing the solemn coronation of the image. The miraculous image of Our Lady of Tomaszowska was crowned on July 17, 1994. The act of coronation was made by the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Józef Kowalczyk. The ceremony took place with the participation of 23 bishops and over 60,000 believers (also from Ukraine).