Our Lady of Health

Marian Advocation of Massagno (Tesino)

Documented history. The current church of la Madonna della Salute was ordered to be built by the municipality of Massagno in 1710, “following a second pestilence that upset the village of Massagno”, como cumplimiento de un ballo colectivo de protección frente a la peste. Fue bendecida el 10 July 1729 by Lugano's clay, Don Giulio Bellasi. Since then the small oratory has become the goal of a felt devotion and instead of a sagra estiva (summer feast) that gather faithful from various backgrounds.

Main data

Origin and history

Documented history. The current church of la Madonna della Salute was ordered to be built by the municipality of Massagno in 1710, “following a second pestilence that upset the village of Massagno”, como cumplimiento de un ballo colectivo de protección frente a la peste. Fue bendecida el 10 July 1729 by Lugano's clay, Don Giulio Bellasi. Since then the small oratory has become the goal of a felt devotion and instead of a sagra estiva (summer feast) that gather faithful from various backgrounds.

A tradition of particular importance is the novena to Our Lady of Healthwhich in Massagno is documented from 1772. According to the local historical source, this ninth was instituted as a moment of prayer and supplication, and since the 18th century it has marked the rhythm of the Marian piety of the place. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the sanctuary has maintained a stable role in the popular religiosity of the Lugano region, with restorations, including an important 1975they have preserved their tardo-baroque physionomy.

Tradition and devotional context. The parochia of Santa Lucia in Massagno indicates that the designation "della Salute" is related, very likelywith the famous church of Santa Maria della Salute of Venice, erected in 1630 as a vote of the city for the end of a plague epidemic. This link highlights a common spiritual background: the Virgin invoked as a protector in times of epidemics and as an intercessor for the health of the body and the soul. This is a traditional, credible explanation, but there is no document that establishes a direct dependence between the Massagno shrine and that of Venice.

The image and the sanctuary

The sources consulted focus mainly on the building and devotional history, and do not provide a detailed description of the Marian image (iconographic type, material, author or precise data); therefore, these data are not documented and cannot be strictly specified.

On the other hand, the temple configuration is described. The place is known as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Health or “child of Our Lady of Health”. El building, restored in 1975, presents a tardo-rectangular baroque classroom con portico of reduced arches y un Sailor on the south wall of the church. The facade is preceded by a nartex the parish of Massagno. It is a small local / diocesan sanctuary, with no mention of the title of a minor basilica or of recognition as a national sanctuary.

The sanctuary is located at the end of Massain the vicinity of Lugano (Canton del Tesino), in the area of Via Madonna della Salutewhich has taken its name precisely from the presence of this church.

Sponsorship and coronation

Local tradition links to the Our Lady of Health with the protection Massa especially in the face of epidemics, given the votive origin of the church following the pestilence that affected the people. It is therefore a far-reaching patronage. municipal/local, linked to the health of the inhabitants and to the intercession of the sick. There is no formal proclamation of the Virgin of Health as a canonical patron of the entire diocese or canton in the consulted sources.

With regard to liturgical and devotional honors of a pontifical type, does not contain a documented canonical coronation for the image of Madonna della Salute de Massagno in the parish, diocesan or repertory sources of Marian shrines consulted.

Party and devotion

The civil sources of the municipality of Massagno point to the celebration of the traditional “Sagra della Madonna della Salute” in the month of July, with activities on Saturday and Sunday at the explanade of the small church that bears its name. It is a popular festival with religious and community component, in which the presence of faithful is significant at local and regional level; the official announcements emphasize that "it turns the sacred tradizionale" every year, which indicates historical continuity. No specific figures are indicated for the influx into public sources.

Next to the sacred, the novena to Our Lady of Healthdocumented since 1772, it is one of the most characteristic devotional features. This is a long period of prayer that prepares the feast and guides devotion to the supplication for the sick, thanksgiving for the favors received and confidence in Marian protection. The parish of Santa Lucia points out that since its blessing in 1729 the oratory is a goal of "sentita devozione," with faithful coming throughout the year.

Although the sources do not specify specific current processions "for the sick," the same dedication "della Salute," the origin linked to epidemics and the structure of the ninth one allow to state that the dimension of the prayer for health and the sick is at the center of devotional practice. No recent official data on far-reaching diocesan processions have been found.

Link to the Rosary

In the specific documentation on the shrine of the Our Lady of Health in Massagno there is no explicit mention of of the Rosary, permanent public rosaries or other forms of Marian association formally linked to the Rosary prayer. Therefore, there is no particular, documented link between this advocation and a rosarian practice of its own (for example, a feast of the Rosary or a canonically built fellowship in the sanctuary).

However, by the very nature of the place - a Marian sanctuary born of a vote in time of epidemic - it is reasonable that the Rosary have accompanied the devotion of generations of faithful as one of the most common Marian prayers, especially during the ninth and local pilgrimages. This is a general inference based on the common Catholic praxis in Marian shrines, not a particular documented data for Massagno.

In marine key, the Our Lady of Health refers Mary as Mother who intercede for the salud integral of their children. The Rosary, in contemplating the mysteries of Christ together with Mary, becomes a school of trust and neglect in Providence, particularly in times of illness, trial or fragility. To the extent that the ninth and the sacred of Massagno invite to put under the protection of the Virgin the sufferings of the body and of the soul, the prayer of the Rosary is naturally harmonized with this advocation as a way of perseverant intercession and union with the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord.