Madonna from the Kiev metro, or How a photo of a Ukrainian woman became an icon in the temple of Naples

In the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a photo of a woman breastfeeding a baby in the Kiev subway was infected online. No one knew then that this was not just a photo, but a new icon. Based on the picture, the picture was first painted. And then the icon, which is now in one of the temples of Naples.



Editorial "Site" The story of Madonna from the Kiev metro.

A woman with a baby is a Kievan Tatiana Bliznyak. She is holding her young daughter, who is barely two months old at the time of the photo. The photo was taken on February 25, when Tatiana and her husband, daughter and pug went down to the subway. There they hid from the bombs that Russian troops had no regrets dropped on the peaceful city.



The photo was taken by the Hungarian journalist of Teleks Andras Feldes. He posted it on his Instagram. A picture of a young mother feeding a child leaning against the cold marble wall of the subway impressed people. The picture began to be shared on social networks. So he saw the artist from the Dnieper Marina Solomennikova.



After seeing the photo, she wanted to draw it. Later I saw her again on the news, where she was compared to the Madonna icon with the baby. But there was no news about the photographer. However, I wanted to know whose work it was and if there were photos from other angles.

And in my head all the puzzles of what I saw and read were already formed – this girl with a child was a symbol of all Ukrainian mothers who are forced to hide from Russian weapons in bomb shelters. The image of the woman in the photograph was so innocent that, in my opinion, it glows without illustration.”

She depicted Tatiana on the background of the scheme of trains of the Kiev metro and with a halo over his head. The picture is so incredible that it emits some inner light. Marina captioned her work: "Ukrainian women are the bravest and strongest."



However, the story of the drawing did not end there. The illustration was published on his page by consultant to the Vatican Secretariat for public relations James Martin. The image became known as the Kiev Madonna.

It has recently become an icon. The image was placed in the temple of Naples, in the chapel at the school of the Franciscan sisters. The initiator of the creation of this icon was the Jesuit priest Vyacheslav Okun, who is now studying in Rome. The man believes that Ukrainians who are now in Italy, it is very important to have something iconic and familiar from their native country. And the Kiev Madonna became just such an image for them.



By the way, Tatiana and her daughter are now safe. They managed to move to the west of Ukraine. We're glad they're okay. Let the girl grow up healthy and happy. She has yet to learn that her mother is a new icon.



It’s hard to know that we live in a time of historical events. Of course, our children will read about it in the pages of textbooks. We will tell them everything that is happening now. About how people had to leave their homes and flee. How much pain and destruction the invaders brought to our land. But along with that, we’ll tell a lot of good stories about incredible people. I believe we have the strength to endure all this!