History
In the Chapel on the Forest Hill, the Statue of Our Lady pregnant has been venerated for over 245 years. The image of Mary, famous for her graces, comes from the 18th century and, as the latest research indicates, from the very beginning she was surrounded with exceptional respect by the Kashubians and the inhabitants of Gdańsk.
In 1769, a carpenter named Stanisław, a resident of Matarnia, during a harsh winter found himself obliged, during a violent blizzard, to walk to Gdańsk, 10 km away, to bring a doctor for his wife, who was awaiting her deliverance but whose health had deteriorated considerably. During this trip, the man gradually lost his strength and then fell from exhaustion.
However, being a man of deep faith, he began to pray earnestly, begging God to save him, his bedridden wife and his unborn child. Suddenly, a beautiful-faced, pregnant woman appeared in front of him, illuminated by an extraordinary light. He recognized the Holy Mother of God. She stretched out her arms to him, saying, “Don’t be afraid! Go home. Your wife is already feeling well and has given you a beautiful and healthy child.” Reinvigorated by the vision and the announcement of such happy news, the carpenter turned around and went home. There he rejoiced greatly when he found out that it was just as the mysterious Woman had told him.
Shortly after, the happy couple went to the Cistercian Abbey of Oliwa and told the monks about the miracle they had witnessed. The Fathers recommended making a statue of Our Lady of Motherhood, according to the description of Stanisław and his wife Maria. In 1790 the statue was carried in a solemn procession from Oliwa to Matemblewo as we can see from the bronze medallion. As the news spread quickly in the area, the faithful gathered at the place of the vision. Most of them were women who could not give birth or were awaiting delivery. Each of these pilgrims brought with him a bag filled with soil to build a small mound on the top of the hill, in the middle of the forest in the valley of Matemblewo. The Cistercians then erected a wooden chapel and placed a statue of Mary there.
The chapel with the statue of Our Lady of Maternity is located on a mound with a height of about 9 m. It is an artificially constructed hill, as evidenced by the traces of the recess of the earth excavated for its execution, visible to this day in the nearby valley. Currently, the mound is surrounded by an arch of 12 old lime trees, a little further on grows 20 larches, whose age is estimated at around 250 years.
Given the amphitheater arrangement of the lime trees, the composition of the larches and the location of the hill itself on the bottom of the valley in the route of the old forest, it should be noted that this is of a deliberate and carefully planned project. composition inspired by the Cistercians of Oliwa – in the second half of the 18th century. The whole was designed as a future place of Marian sanctuary. Besides the age of the trees surrounding the chapel, another argument confirming the authenticity of the time of the creation of the Sanctuary is a flag mounted on the roof of the chapel (probably moved here from the original wooden chapel) with the monogram “MARYJA” stamped and the date 1769.
Prayer to Our Lady of the Pregnancy
Wonderful Lady Matemblewska!
You are our greatest consolation after God. We approach you with all our confidence, like children towards their Mother. We come to you, we prostrate ourselves before you, imploring your help, O Mary! You have worked so many miracles in this place you have chosen, you have listened to so many unfortunate people and cured them of illnesses of soul and body, you have given so many families the desired child. Mother of Matemblewska! Be the strength of mothers who are expecting a child, so that they do not fear the difficulties of motherhood. Take care of our families and lead them to your divine Son, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
Pilgrimage 2022
For nearly 250 years, pregnant women, large families, as well as married couples wishing to have children have come here on pilgrimage so, at the end of the beautiful month of May, dedicated to the Most Holy Virgin Mary, some 80 knights walked to the Matemblewo shrine in Poland, in the Gdańsk region, taking advantage on their 25 km journey to distribute one hundred Miraculous Medals with the leaflet. One of the purposes of this pilgrimage is also to make acts of reparation for the sins committed against the divine Maternity of Mary as requested by Our Lady of Fatima.
