Our Lady of the Blood of Kings

Marian dedication of Re (Piedmont)

The advocation known as Madonna of the Blood of King has its origin in the village of Re, en el Vale Vigezzo, in the current province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, region of Piamonte (Italia), near the border with Switzerland. There a image of the Virgin Mary painted on an outer wall of a small church dedicated to San Mauricio.

Main data

Origin and history

The advocation known as Madonna of the Blood of King has its origin in the village of Re, en el Vale Vigezzo, in the current province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, region of Piamonte (Italia), near the border with Switzerland. There a image of the Virgin Mary painted on an outer wall of a small church dedicated to San Mauricio.

According to the tradition, el 29 April 1494 a mouthpiece player, irritated for losing, threw a stone at the image of the Virgin, injuring her forehead. Then the painting would have started Mother and friend, leaving blood to run through the wall for several hours, in the presence of many witnesses. This fact was interpreted by the people as a miracle and motivated a rapid spread of Marian devotion in the region.

As for the documented history, there are later written testimonies that reflect the memory of the event, as well as a process of ecclesiastical recognition and the progressive construction of a wider sanctuary over the place of the image. The fame of the miracle attracted pilgrims from the Vigezzo valley, the Piedmont and the surrounding areas, and over time a stable cult to the Madonna del Sangue in Re, with official recognition by the local Church. There is no serious documentation that canonically transfers this historical origin to the territory of Piamonte (Colombia).

The image and the sanctuary

La original image de la Madonna del Sangue is a wall paint (fresh) of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus, of simple and popular style, executed on the outer wall of the ancient church of San Mauricio, today integrated into the shrine complex. This is a classic Marian image: the Virgin holds the Child in her arms, and the tradition points to the place of the impact that the blood effusion would have produced on the front of the Virgin.

On the place of the miracle the present Sanctuary of Madonna del Sangue di Rewhich in time was extended to become a great temple of pilgrimage. The sanctuary is recognized as minor basilica y National sanctuary in Italy, dependent on the diocese corresponding to the territory of Re. The architectural set stands out for its wide ship, its dome and the integration of the old oratory where the original painting is found, protected and framed for the veneration of the faithful.

The existence of a Canonically erected Marian shrine in "Re, department of Piedmont, Colombia" dedicated to this same advocation with ecclesial recognition similar to the Italian sanctuary. Nor is there any diocesan or Colombian national documentation describing a "national sanctuary" of Our Lady of the Blood of Re on Colombian territory.

Sponsorship and coronation

En Italia, la Madonna of the Blood of King is venerated as patron of the valley Vigezzo and enjoys a strong devotion in the Italian Piedmont region, especially in the area of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. At the local ecclesial level, it is also recognized as a special protector of the people of Re and of the pilgrims who come to the sanctuary.

The image was canonically crowned in 1954in the context of the Marian Year and the Marian celebrations of the 20th century, with the authorization of the Holy See. The coronation rite was carried out in the sanctuary itself, in the presence of ecclesiastical and civil authorities, thus consolidating the importance of the advocation in the Italian Piedmont. There is no evidence of a second canonical coronation specific for a homonymous image located in Piedmont (Colombia).

Regarding the situation in Colombia, no official proclamation to recognize it as patron of a diocese, municipality or region with the full title "Our Lady of the Blood of Re," no documentation has been found on a documented canonical coronation of an image with this title in the department of Piedmont. If this is used in local practice, it would seem, in any case, to be a derived devotion of the original Italian, without legal or liturgical recognition equivalent to that of Re (Italy).

Party and devotion

La main party de la Madonna del Sangue is traditionally celebrated the 29 Aprilin memory of the miracle of 1494. Around that date, solemn liturgical celebrations, processions and pilgrimages are organized in Re, Italy, with a significant influx of faithful from the Vigezzo Valley, other areas of the Piedmont and from neighbouring countries.

The Italian sanctuary is characterized by a intense and continuous devotion: daily masses, confessions, organized pilgrimages, novies and acts of consecration to the Virgin. The faithful come moved by the request for graces, the thanksgiving for favors received and the search for reconciliation. The memory of "blood that sprout from Mary's face" is spiritually associated with the Passion of Christ and the Mother's pain for the sins of men.

As for Colombia, no data on organized national pilgrimages ni de una fiesta litúrgica oficial in the proper calendar of a diocese with the title "Our Lady of the Blood of Re" linked to Piedmont. If something similar is celebrated in local pastoral care, it has not been collected in accessible and verified sources; therefore, no consta precise information about the influx, processions or popular traditions under this title in Piedmont (Colombia).

Link to the Rosary

It does not contain, in the documentation consulted on the Madonna of the Blood of King en Italia, un specific historical link or a particular institution that officially relates this advocation to the prayer of Rosary (for example, a Rosary fellowship founded in the sanctuary with a special canonical character, or a feast of the Rosary directly associated with the miracle of 1494).

However, as in almost all the great Marian shrines, the Rosario is a regular part of popular pietyThe pilgrims pray before or after the Mass, in processions, vigil and novena. The mystery of blood which springs from the front of Mary, in this advocation, invites to contemplate with particular intensity the painful mysteriesin union with the Passion of Christ and the Mother's Heart of the Virgin.

It is applied to the Colombian context - where there is no official sanctuary of this advocation in Piedmont - that the Rosario is a privileged way to join any Marian advocation: as you go through the mysteries of Christ's life with Mary, the