Visitors to the Black Madonna Shrine might expect an Afro-world of '70s kitsch. Instead, they'll find a surprisingly touching and beautiful shrine, hand-built by Brother Bronislaus Luszcz, a Franciscan who emigrated to St. Louis from Poland in 1927. The "black" of "Black Madonna" refers to the darkened skin tone of Our Lady of Czestochowa painted by St. Luke, a reproduction of which hangs in the Eureka grotto. Billed as "a shining example of what one man with faith can achieve," the shrine... More »
