Our Lady of Tears of Syracuse

Marian Invocation of Siracusa (Sicily)

La advocación de Our Lady of Tears of Syracuse is linked to the phenomenon between the 29 August and 1 September 1953 in the city of Siracusa, Sicily, Italy, in the home of the marriage Angelo Iannuso and Antonina Lucia Giusto. There, a small relief of enamelled plaster from Immaculate Heart of Maryplaced on the head of the bed, he was seen crying for the husbands, their relatives and numerous neighbors. A medical commission collected the liquid and, through comparative analysis, identified it as human tearswithout sufficient physical-chemical explanation. The 12 December 1953the Episcopal Conference of Sicily declared that the reality of the tear could not be questioned and recognized pastoral the phenomenon, promoting the construction of a sanctuary.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Tears of Syracuse is linked to the phenomenon between the 29 August and 1 September 1953 in the city of Siracusa, Sicily, Italy, in the home of the marriage Angelo Iannuso and Antonina Lucia Giusto. There, a small relief of enamelled plaster from Immaculate Heart of Maryplaced on the head of the bed, he was seen crying for the husbands, their relatives and numerous neighbors. A medical commission collected the liquid and, through comparative analysis, identified it as human tearswithout sufficient physical-chemical explanation. The 12 December 1953the Episcopal Conference of Sicily declared that the reality of the tear could not be questioned and recognized pastoral the phenomenon, promoting the construction of a sanctuary.

As for the TRADITION / LEYENDA, popular devotion has surrounded this event of graces and physical and spiritual healing related to the tears collected in cotton and handkerchiefs, especially in the months after the prodigy. These are testimonies of popular piety and local memory, valued spiritually, but which do not have the same rank as the documented history of the event and of ecclesial recognition. The memory of the Virgin of Tears was set in the local Sicilian calendar 31 Auguststrengthening its dissemination in Italy and other countries.

En Colombia, in the municipality of Siracusa (Department of Sicily) - local toponymy that evokes the Sicilian city - this Marian advocation has been assumed as its own, inspired explicitly by the miracle recognized in Siracusa, Italy. [not included in the sources consulted] However, no specific and detailed documentation on the the historical foundation of the Colombian sanctuary, dates of canonical erection or diocesan decrees of their own: no consta documented information accessible online on these aspects.

The image and the sanctuary

The original image of the Virgin of Tears is a enamelled plaster bass which represents the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with domestic style and reduced dimensions, proper to a devotion of home. It is not a sculpture of a round lump or an apparition, but a efigie devocional hanging on the wall above the double bed. The prodigy of tears originated precisely in this simple piece, later moved to the sanctuary of Siracusa, Italy.

The great modern sanctuary of reference is the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Lacrime of Siracusa (Sicily, Italy), a temple of circular and conic form, with a height of 80 meters, crowned by a statue of the Virgin in bronze. The complex has crypt and upper basilicaand was erected in memory of the miracle of 1953; the realization of the project was extended around 30 years to its conclusion. This sanctuary, consecrated by Saint John Paul II in 1994, has become an important Marian pilgrimage center.

Concerning specific temple or sanctuary in Guaviare, Colombia, dedicated to Our Lady of Tears, the sources consulted do not provide verifiable data on their full official name, canon range (parish, diocesan or national sanctuary) and detailed architectural characteristics: no consta documented information at this level in available sources. It can be said, by devotional analogy, that it is a place of worship where the Virgin is venerated under this advocation, taking as spiritual reference the sanctuary of Siracusa, Italy. [inference founded on the spread of devotion]

Sponsorship and coronation

The devotion to Our Lady of Tears has spread widely in Italy and in other countries, with special emphasis on Siracusa (Sicella)where the advocation has a strong local and regional character. As regards Siracusa, Department of Sicily, Colombiathe accessible sources do not explicitly document a decree formal de patronazgo of the city, municipality or diocese in favor of this advocation: no consta officially a canonically proclaimed patronage in the documents consulted.

On the canonical coronation of the image venerated in Colombia (Siracusa, Sicily), does not contain a documented canonical coronation in the revised sources. In the case of the original image of Siracusa (Italy), some sources of dissemination refer to a high ecclesial recognition and the consecration of the sanctuary by John Paul II in 1994, but do not explicitly indicate a ceremony of canonical coronation of the miraculous image. For the purposes of this document and focused on the Colombian reality, it is therefore maintained: does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

The most widespread liturgical feast of Our Lady of Tears linked to the prodigy of 1953 is celebrated August 29, date of the start of the tear in Siracusa, Italy. Some local traditions also mark the 31 August as the day of the Virgin of Tears, within the framework of the days of the miracle. For the community of Siracusa (department of Sicily, Colombia), the reference to August 29 as the main feast of the advocation is consistent with the historical origin of the cult; however, no consta a liturgical decree of its own that officially regulates this memory in the local calendar.

In the Italian sanctuary, devotion is expressed in constant pilgrimageswith the influx of faithful from all over the world, especially around the anniversary of the miracle and in certain Marian celebrations. It is a piety marked by prayer for the sick, the supplication for conversion and the reparation for sins, interpreting Mary's tears as a sign of pain for the rejection of God's love and of hope in divine mercy. At the Colombian level, although there are no influx figures or an official pilgrimage program to the Shrine of Siracusa (Sicily), it is reasonable to assume - by analogy with other devotional replicas - the practice of novenas, processions and prayer days around the date of August 29 and the major Marian parties. [inference founded, undocumented]

Link to the Rosary

The historical sources on the Virgin of the Tears of Syracuse focus on the phenomenon of tear, analysis of tears and ecclesial recognitionas well as in the spiritual message of conversion and penance. There is no specific and explicit relationship between this vocation and a particular practice of Rosary (for example, promises, apparitions with the rosary in hand or specific mandates to pray): no consta a historical link of this advocation with the prayer of the Rosary.

However, in the Catholic tradition, the Rosary He regularly accompanies all the great Marian devotions: it is a contemplative prayer that travels the mysteries of Christ's life from the hand of Mary, and that naturally adapts to the climate of penance, supplication and reparation that the Virgin of Tears raises. Where it is venerated - both in Siracusa, Italy, and in Siracusa, department of Sicily, Colombia - the Rosary prayer offers a privileged channel for:

– meditar los painful mysteries, contemplando el sufrimiento de Cristo unido al dolor de la Madre por los pecados del mundo; – suplicar la conversión de los pe

Sources: tradition of the sanctuary, diocesan information and Wikipedia in Spanish. The distinction between popular piety and documented ecclesial history is specific to this fact sheet; extraordinary accounts are presented as devotion and not as doctrinal pronunciation.