On May 4 1994 the painting was crowned by the Primate of Poland Cardinal Józef Glemp. Known for its ability to bestow grace, the painting of Our Lady of Grodziec attracted more and more former inhabitants of the eastern regions of Poland and especially the Siberian Deportees. It made the church in Grodziec recognizable as the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Siberian Deportees. Since 1989 there has been an annual pilgrimage in Grodziec of the Siberian Deportees wanting to visit their Patroness. The Silesian Wars, waged in the 18th century between Prussia and Austria, had almost totally ruined Silesia. When they ended and Silesia was annexed by Prussia, Frederick II started his large-scale campaign of recolonising abandoned villages and establishing new ones. Today’s Grodziec was a Czech settlement. The Czech called their village Bedrichuv Hradec (hradec meaning settlement or stronghold). In time, the name was polonized and Hradec turned into Grodziec. The village developed prosperously. This was due to the combined talents of the German, Czech and Polish inhabitants. It fell on bad days when the Second World War ended with the exodus of almost all indigenous inhabitants closing a chapter in the village’s history. Shortly after, the abandoned Grodziec was populated by the displaced people from former eastern Poland villages of Bi?ka Szlachecka and Bi?ka Królewska. They came with the paining of Our Lady of Bi?ka which was famous for its ability to bestow grace. The painting was placed in the central nave of the Grodziec church which was already built by the Czech Brothers in 1891. Eventually the painting became the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Siberian Deportees. It still serves as such.