WORLD : Fire Hits Poland’s Holiest Shrine
A fire burned through the night at Poland’s holiest shrine, the Jasna Gora monastery in Czestochowa, and two monks were injured while saving centuries-old volumes from the library.
The jewel-robed Black Madonna, the burnished icon to which millions of pilgrims pay homage each Aug. 15, was not damaged.
The monks suffered smoke inhalation while rushing through the burning building to save books, including some illuminated manuscripts dating to the 15th Century, from the library built in 1739. Polish radio said they were in stable condition.
The fire appeared to have been caused by a short circuit, the radio said.
Officials said there was no significant damage to the many historical objects housed at Jasna Gora, which was founded in 1382 by the hermetic Paulite order from Hungary.
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