Our Lady of the Incoronate

Marian dedication of Foggia (Apulia)

La advocación de Our Lady of the Incoronata (Madonna dell'Incoronata) is attached to the Marian shrine of Borgo Incoronata, a few kilometres from Foggia, in the region of Apulia (Puglia), in southern Italy.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of the Incoronata (Madonna dell'Incoronata) is attached to the Marian shrine of Borgo Incoronata, a few kilometres from Foggia, in the region of Apulia (Puglia), in southern Italy.

According to the tradition more widespread, the Virgin appeared towards the year 1001, el Last Saturday, Aprilin the forest of Cervaro, near the river of the same name, on the outskirts of Foggia. The legend tells that a shepherd (sometimes also a noble or owner of the flock) saw on an oak a light and the figure of the Mother of God, who asked for the construction of a place of worship in that place, allowing himself to be recognized as "Mother of God crowned." This date and context (Cervaro forest, oak, last Saturday of April) clearly belong to the Pious tradition, transmitted by later local chronicles and popular devotion.

From the perspective of the documented history, the safest references place the cult of the Madonna Incoronata at least since the low Middle Ages, linked to monastic communities in the Foggia area. Over time, the sanctuary was consolidated as an important pilgrimage center in the Tavoliere delle Puglie and was entrusted to religious (historically Benedictine and later other religious families), which contributed to the structure of liturgical life and the spread of Marian devotion. The concrete form and details of the alleged apparition in the 11th century, however, belong to the legendary sphere and are not attested by coetaneous documents. There is no direct medieval documentation describing the event of 1001 with critical precision; what is preserved are later elaborations of the local tradition.

(Note on location: the sanctuary and the advocation have its origin in Borgo Incoronata, Foggia, Apulia region, Italy. There are no sources that officially credit an "Incoronata de Foggia, Apulia" as an advocation originating in Colombia; the reference is Italian.)

The image and the sanctuary

La image venerada es la de Mary Most Holy Incoronata, a representation of the Virgin with features of Madonna “coronada” and of an old type, associated in tradition to the trunk or wood of the oak of the place of apparition. Some sources describe effigy as a size in natural wood (probably dark by the time and smoke of the lamps), venerated as a kind of "Black Madonna" or "Poor Madonna" (María Santissima l’Incoronata dei Poveri). However, the exact details about the author, the precise dating and the detailed iconography (position of the hands, Child Jesus, symbols) do not record with certainty in the sources consulted; beyond their character as a crowned and highly venerated Marian image, does not contain a detailed and documented iconographic description.

The place of worship is the Sanctuary of Madonna Incoronata (also referred to as Shrine Mother of God Incoronata), situado en Borgo Incoronata, a village in the municipality of Foggia. It is recognized as minor basilica and sanctuary of pilgrimage, of great importance to the whole area of Tavoliere. The present complex is a large sanctuary, with a modern church that welcomes many faithful, with spaces for confessions, celebrations and pastoral activities. The architecture, reconstructed and expanded in the 20th century, combines contemporary elements with the memory of the old place of worship; however, the stylistic details (architect, exact date of proclamation as a minor basilica) are not clearly specified in the sources here consulted.

Sponsorship and coronation

Our Lady of the Incoronata is recognized as co-patron of Foggia city y del Ankle tables, the great plain of the region of Apulia. The Borgo Incoronata shrine acts as a spiritual reference centre for the city and the rural communities of the area, and its feast has a strong character of local and regional patronage.

In relation to a canonical coronation, the very title of "Incoronata" and local tradition suggest an ancient fame of "Virgin crowned." However, the sources consulted (of a public, tourist and devotional nature) do not provide firm data on a concrete act of canonical coronation with indication of year and pontiff or delegate. In the absence of reliable and accurate documentation, it should be indicated: does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

The main feast of Our Lady of the Incoronata is celebrated Last Saturday, Aprilin memory of the traditional date of the apparition in 1001. The celebration usually takes several days, approximately 27 April-1 May, with a series of liturgical and popular acts. On those days the Solemn Eucharist, se bendice el oil linked to devotion to the Virgin and the Volutive lamp to the small statue of Madonna Incoronata, a gesture that recalls Mary's constant protection over the city and the countryside.

The shrine of Borgo Incoronata is a important destination of pilgrimagesespecially for the population of Foggia and all Apulia. There are no detailed official figures of influx in the sources mentioned, but their nature is stressed. very frequent pilgrimage place. Devotion is characterized by the trust of the faithful in the maternal protection of the Virgin, particularly on the workers of the countryside, the poor and families, in line with the title "Incoronata dei poveri." There are frequent promises, exvotes and pilgrimages on foot, as well as participation in penitential and Marian processions and celebrations around the sanctuary.

Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted on the Madonna dell'Incoronata de Foggia do not mention a specific or unique practice of the Rosary exclusively associated with this advocation (for example, the Rosary's own cofradies, particular promises linked to each mystery, etc.). No consta, therefore, a peculiar bond of the Rosary that distinguishes this devotion from other Marian asvocations.

However, as in most Marian shrines, the rezo of the Holy Rosary It is an ordinary part of the spiritual life of pilgrims and communities that approach the Madonna Incoronata. In the framework of this advocation, the Rosary can be understood as:

– Un modo de to contemplate, together with Mary, the life of Christ, agradeciendo su protección sobre la ciudad de Foggia y el Tavoliere. – Una escuela de subsidiary trust en la Madre de Dios, que, bajo el título de “Incoronata”, recuerda la gloria de María en el cielo y su intercesión por los pobres y sencillos. – Un camino de intercession by the Church and local societyespecially for those who work the earth, for the sick and for families, joining the prayers of the faithful with those of the Virgin who watches from her sanctuary.

In this way, even without documented exclusive rosarian features, devotion to Our Lady of the Incoronata finds in the Rosary a privileged instrument of prayer, meditation and humble consecration to the maternal love of Mary.