Our Lady of Caravaggio

Marian vocation of Caravaggio (Lombardy)

La advocación de Our Lady of Caravaggio (Santa María del Fonte) is born linked to a Marian apparition in Caravaggio, Lombardy, Italy, 26 May 1432. According to the traditionthe Virgin would have manifested to the peasant Giannetta (or Giovannetta) de’ Vacchi in a field on the outskirts of the city, comforting it in the midst of family suffering and calling for conversion, peace and penance. According to this account, from the place indicated by the Virgin, a manantial considered source of thanks, hence the title "Santa María del Fonte" (Our Lady of the Source).

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Caravaggio (Santa María del Fonte) is born linked to a Marian apparition in Caravaggio, Lombardy, Italy, 26 May 1432. According to the traditionthe Virgin would have manifested to the peasant Giannetta (or Giovannetta) de’ Vacchi in a field on the outskirts of the city, comforting it in the midst of family suffering and calling for conversion, peace and penance. According to this account, from the place indicated by the Virgin, a manantial considered source of thanks, hence the title "Santa María del Fonte" (Our Lady of the Source).

As for the documented historythe sources clearly point out that in the place of the old apparition was consolidated a Marian sanctuary already in the 15th century, which was expanding and embellishing throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. It is firmly attested that devotion to Our Lady of the Source in Caravaggio was extended by Italy and then to other countries (especially Brazil), giving rise to replicas of the sanctuary and numerous images inspired by the Italian apparition.

On the presence of this advocation in Caravaggio, department of Lombardy (Colombia)the sources consulted do not provide specific historical data on the arrival of devotion, the foundation of the local temple or the development of it: no consta accessible documentation about the particular history of the advocation in that Colombian town. It can be said with certainty only that the original reference of the advocation is the Italian Marian sanctuary of Caravaggio and that the feast is celebrated on 26 May, in continuity with the tradition of the apparition of 1432.

The image and the sanctuary

En el sanctuary original Italian if it venerates a Marian image of devotional type (Madonna di Caravaggio / Santa María del Fonte), representing the Virgin Mary as a merciful mother, linked to the miraculous spring. The sources available online describe the whole of devotion (apparition, source and temple) in greater detail than the concrete iconography of the main image; however, it is known that it is a solemn image, adapted to veneration in a great sanctuary, and that it enjoys historical veneration and coronation. As for the concrete image venerated in Guaviare, Colombia, no constain the sources consulted, a precise description of their size, material or iconographic style.

The reference model for this devotion is the Sanctuary of Santa María del Fonte near Caravaggioin Italy, which is at the same time Marian sanctuary y minor basilica. The basilica is located in the municipality of Caravaggio, in the province of Bergamo (Lombardy region), and is described as a monumental sanctuary of Catholic veneration, with a wide explanade, large-scale structure and architectural elements of the XVI-XVII centuries. It was solemnly developed to host many pilgrims and is also characterized by the area of manantial associated with the apparition.

For the local parish or sanctuary in Caravaggio, Lombardy (Colombia)available sources do not provide official data on the canonical name of the templetheir category (parish, diocesan sanctuary, etc.) and their architectural characteristics: on these extremes no consta documented information accessible from the sources consulted.

Sponsorship and coronation

Our Lady of Caravaggio is an advocation of strong arraigo in the region of Lombardía (Italia)where the sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte has the character of great Italian nacional sanctuary and is a place of pilgrimage for the faithful of various dioceses. He has also become a patron and spiritual reference of communities where devotion has spread, especially in some regions of Brazil, where there is an important sanctuary in Farroupilha (Rio Grande do Sul). In the specific case of Caravaggio (Lombardy, Colombia), no consta in the sources consulted an official recognition of patronage (municipal, diocesan or national) under this title.

As for the coronationthe image of Our Lady of the Source in the Italian sanctuary received a solemn recognition: it is documented that the sanctuary was enriched with a Gold crown and then the temple was raised to lower basilica by Pope Pius X in April 1906. This data expressly refers to the sanctuary of Caravaggio in Italy. With regard to a canonical coronation of the venerated image in Caravaggio (Lombardy, Colombia)no official documents or news have been found: therefore, does not contain a documented canonical coronation for the local image.

Party and devotion

La main party of Our Lady of Caravaggio is celebrated the 26 May, memory of the day of apparition according to the Lombard tradition of 1432. In the Italian sanctuary, this date is marked by solemn Eucharistic celebrations, processions and pilgrimages, becoming one of the days of the greatest influx of the faithful to the temple. The devotion is especially articulated around the for peace, conversion and family reconciliation, themes present in the message attributed to the Virgin in Caravaggio.

The popular piety linked to this advocation also highlights the presence of the manantialTo whom the pilgrims come to drink or bring water to their homes, in an attitude of faith and seeking spiritual comfort. In other countries where devotion has developed, the same forms are often repeated: novena, Marian processions, consecration to the Virgin and a remarkable celebration of May 26. For the community of Caravaggio (Lombardy, Colombia)Although there are no figures of inflow or detailed descriptions of local practices, it is reasonable to say that the feast of 26 May is celebrated in line with the tradition of advocation, with emphasis on the solemn mass and the prayer entrusted to Mary under the title of Caravaggio; concrete data of local pilgrimages, however, no constan in the sources consulted.

Link to the Rosary

In the specific sources Our Lady of Caravaggio there is no particular historical link between the apparition and a revelation or new practice of the Rosary: tradition focuses mainly on the call to conversion, peace and penance, along with the sign of the spring. Therefore, in strict terms, no consta that this advocation was originally associated with a special form of prayer of the Rosary.

However, in the life of the Church, the Rosary It has become one of the privileged forms of Marian prayer in virtually all shrines of the world. In the case of Caravaggio, both in the Italian sanctuary and in the communities where this advocation is venerated, the Rosary usually occupies a central place between the prayers of the pilgrimsespecially in Marian vigil, processions and novies. Thus, the Rosary accompanies devotion to Our Lady of Caravaggio as school of contemplation of the mysteries of Christ with the eyes of Maryand as a prayer of intercession for the reconciliation and the healing of families, issues very consistent with the spiritual message that tradition attributes to this advocation.