St. Romuald’s dream

The painting depicts a dream of St. Romuald, in which he sees monks dressed in white habits ascending the steps of a ladder to heaven. According to legend, Romuald read his dream as a sign from God and, under its influence, founded a monastery in Camaldoli, giving rise to the Camaldolese order. Impressed by the dream, he also replaced the black Benedictine habit with the white one worn by the Camaldolese.

The image is placed in a beautiful altar made in 1732 by Jan Hoffman, and founded by Augustyn Józef Czapski. The original altar, dedicated not only to St. Romuald, but also to St. Benedictine, was then sent to the Warsaw hermitage of the Camaldolese monks, where it was set up in the chapter house.