Feast of Our Lady of Pompeii and anniversary of foundational stone laid at famous shrine

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Pompeii, one of the most recent titles bestowed on the Virgin Mary. May 8 also commemorates the anniversary of the laying of the foundational stone in 1876 for a church in Pompeii, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, that would become a famous pilgrimage site.

On 8 May and the first Sunday of October, which is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, tens of thousands of pilgrims come to the city of Pompeii, to witness the devotions to the Madonna of Pompeii.

Unlike so many of Our Lady’s titles, which go back centuries for their origin, this one connected to Pompeii is quite recent. The events which gave rise to this title and the devotion to Our Lady of Pompeii took place just over 150 years ago.

By the second half of the nineteenth century the Valley of Pompeii, near Naples in southern Italy, was practically deserted, notes the Roman Catholic Saints website. Of the comparatively few people who still lived there, most had lost their ancient Catholic faith; ignorance and superstition prevailed. Only a handful of people bothered to attend the services in the little parish chapel.

In October 1872, a man named Bartolo Longo came to the valley. He was the husband of the Countess of Fusco, who had some property there; and Bartolo came to see what condition it was in. He had been reared a Catholic and was probably still one in name, although it seems he was not very devout.

On 9 October, a few days after his arrival, he was walking along a rather desolate road when suddenly a voice spoke to him. It told him that if he wished to be saved, he should spread devotion to the Rosary and that the Blessed Virgin had promised that was the way to find salvation.

His early efforts to interest the people in the Rosary devotion do not seem to have been very successful, notes Roman Catholic Saints. But Longo persisted, and in two or three years he had gathered quite a group around him for daily recitation of the prayers in the little chapel.

The local bishop visited the valley in 1875, and complimented Longo on the good work he had done. The bishop suggested that a church be built there in honour of Our Lady of Pompeii and, pointing to a field near the chapel, declared that someday a basilica would stand on that spot.

As the number of people taking part in the daily recitation of the Rosary grew, it was decided that a picture of the Blessed Virgin was needed to help the faithful meditate as they prayed. On 13 October 1875, Longo went to Naples to see if he could find a suitable picture. But after searching for several days, to his great disappointment, he found that any acceptable picture would cost around four hundred francs, and he had nowhere near that amount to spend.

He didn’t want to return empty handed, though, and disappoint the good people of Pompeii. As a result, he somewhat reluctantly accepted a secondhand painting from Sister Maria Concetta De Litala, of the Convent of Rosariello at Porta Medina of Naples. A trucker, not knowing what the package contained, pitched it on top of a load of garbage and so the picture arrived at the chapel.

Despite its somewhat inglorious method or arrival, the dilapidated picture pleased the people who enshrined it. Almost immediately several miracles took place through Mary’s intercession as Our Lady of Pompeii. A church was built between 1876-1891 and a new basilica followed in 1934-1939, ordered by Pope Pius XI.

With the building of the churches, the devotion to Our Lady of Pompeii continued to grow and the site of of the churches became a shrine, known as the Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, famous for its picture of Our Lady of the Rosary, not to mention its location near the eery ruins of Pompeii that serve as a chilling testament to how man’s great efforts, his cities and his riches can be turned to nothing in a devastating moment.

The icon of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii – 120 cm high and wide 100 cm – shows the image of the Madonna enthroned with Jesus in her arms; attended by Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine of Siena. The Virgin carries in her left hand the rosary which she hands it to Saint Catherine, while Jesus, resting on her right leg, hands it to Saint Dominic.

In this context, notes the Sanctuary’s website, the humble figure of Mary enthroned invites the Church to move towards the mystery of Trinity, while the spaces around the icon speak to the Church, the mystical body; and to the world and to history, towards which the Church has the debt of being “sacrament”, offering the service of evangelical proclamation. Uniting all these is the Rosary, a prayerful synthesis, placed almost as a foundation at the foot of the throne, and delivered by the Son and from the Mother as a way of meditation and assimilation of the Mystery.

The ruins of Pompeii, which attract around 4 million visitors a year, has been back in the news of late. Recently, a banquet room replete with well preserved frescoes depicting characters inspired by the Trojan war was unearthed among the ruins of Pompeii in what has been described as one of the most striking discoveries ever made at the archaeological site, reports the Guardian.

“Pompeii is truly a treasure chest that never ceases to surprise us and arouse amazement,” the Italian culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, told the Guardian. “Because, every time we dig, we find something beautiful and significant.”

The feast day of Our Lady of Pompeii reminds us of the importance to dig in other ways, also, and into our hearts and souls to find something even more beautiful and significant.

Bartolo Longo was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II.

“Despite reaching a very low point in his life suffering depression and anxiety, Blessed Bartolo Longo’s life was turned around by responding to a mystical experience in which he was encouraged to promote the Rosary,” says Josephine Scott, a London-based parishioner who is a particular fan of the devotion to Our Lady of Pompeii.

Photo: Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii set against Mount Vesuvius; screenshot from www.santuario.it.

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