Our Lady of the Three Sources / Virgin of Revelation

Marian vocation of Rome (Lazio)

La Virgin of Revelation (Virgin of Revelation), venerated in the context of the Tre Fontane Abbey in Rome, is linked to the alleged apparitions received by Bruno Cornacchiola el 12 April 1947in a hondonada near the Trapense monastery where the martyrdom of St. Paul is commemorated. These apparitions are part of popular piety and have been prudently welcomed by the Church, authorizing veneration, but without a statement of a dogmatic character as in Lourdes or Fatima (data based on general knowledge recognized in marine studies; there is no solemn decree of recognition similar to that of Lourdes or Fatima in the sources consulted).

Main data

Origin and history

La Virgin of Revelation (Virgin of Revelation), venerated in the context of the Tre Fontane Abbey in Rome, is linked to the alleged apparitions received by Bruno Cornacchiola el 12 April 1947in a hondonada near the Trapense monastery where the martyrdom of St. Paul is commemorated. These apparitions are part of popular piety and have been prudently welcomed by the Church, authorizing veneration, but without a statement of a dogmatic character as in Lourdes or Fatima (data based on general knowledge recognized in marine studies; there is no solemn decree of recognition similar to that of Lourdes or Fatima in the sources consulted).

According to the tradition associated with the account of Cornacchiola, the Virgin presents herself in white with a green cloak, holding the Holy Scripture, and presents herself as "Virgin of Revelation." He calls for conversion, fidelity to the Church and the Eucharist, and encourages prayer and penance. Cornacchiola was at that time a secular in a serious crisis of faith and strongly critical with the Church; the experience of the apparition would mark its conversion and later lay apostolate (this content belongs to the traditional core of the account of the apparitions, transmitted in biographies and testimonies; it is not available in the search for a magisterial document that details it).

From the perspective of the documented historyIn the years after 1947, there was a remarkable increase of pilgrims to the Tre Fontane Grotto and the ecclesiastical authority of Rome organized the worship in an official way, allowing the celebration of the Eucharist and acts of Marian devotion in the place. The local liturgical memory is celebrated 12 Aprilthe anniversary of the first apparition; outside this context, it is not clear that there is a compulsory universal feast in the general Roman calendar.

(The file indicates "Location: Rome, Department of Lazio, Colombia." It is not in the consulted sources that there is an independent advocation in Colombia with the same title linked to this apparition; devotion originates and historically focuses on Rome.)

The image and the sanctuary

La imagen principal de la Virgin of Revelation es una round lump sculpture who represents Mary standing, dressed with white robe y manto verde, con el Book of Holy Scripture in the hands or very close to them (iconography that highlights the relationship between Mary and the Word of God). In many representations, the Virgin appears on a cloud or peñasco, stressing that she manifests herself in the frying of Tre Fontane. The original material of the first image (wood, marble or other) is not in the sources consulted, and in the devotional practice there are both images of plaster and resin and pictorial representations later disseminated. In the absence of precise and verifiable data, the material of the first official image of veneration is not with certainty.

The place of worship is known as Sanctuary of the Virgin of Revelation (Sanctuary of the Virgin of Revelation), located next to the abbey of Tre Fontane in Rome, traditionally associated with the martyrdom of St. Paul. The sanctuary is structured around the gruta where the apparitions would have taken place, conditioned as a place of prayer with the altar, images and spaces for the celebration of the Eucharist. It is not established in the documents consulted that the sanctuary has been elevated to the title of minor basilica; this is a Marian shrine localrelated to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the diocese of Rome and the presence of the Trapense monastic community in Tre Fontane. The title "national sanctuary" officially conferred by the Italian Episcopal Conference is also not included.

Sponsorship and coronation

As regards patronazgo, the Virgin of Revelation is an advocation of reach mainly local y regional. It is a sanctuary very frequented by the faithful of Rome and Lazio; however, no consta in the documents consulted which have been officially proclaimed patrona principal of the city of Rome, of the region of Lazio or of a specific diocese by means of a pontifical or episcopal decree comparable to other national or diocesan patronings. However, devotion has spread spontaneously in various countries, where some communities venerate it as a special protector, but without specific universal legal recognition.

On the canonical coronationthe information available about the shrine of Tre Fontane and the image of the Virgin of Revelation does not, with documentary security, collect a ceremony of canonical coronation given by the Holy See with a clearly identifiable date, decree and pontifical delegate, as is the case in other older Marian or more internationally recognized. Therefore, with the available verifiable data, it should be indicated: "does not contain a documented canonical coronation".

Party and devotion

La main party of the Virgin of Revelation in Tre Fontane is celebrated the 12 April, a date commemorating the first apparition of Bruno Cornacchiola in 1947. On that day, solemn Eucharistic celebrations, processions and acts of consecration to the Virgin are organized, with a remarkable influx of pilgrims coming mainly from Rome and other parts of Italy. In the sanctuary itself it is lived as the great day of advocation.

La devotion is characterized by the insistence on conversión personal, la sacramental confession, la fidelidad a la Church doctrine and love of the Eucharist, elements that emerge from the messages attributed to the Virgin in the account of the apparitions. Pilgrims often go to the grotto pray in silence, light candles, leave devotees and entrust difficult situations of faith or family. Although precise and recent official figures are not available in the sources consulted, this is a constant pilgrimage throughout the year, with moments of greater influx around 12 April and at the main Marian parties.

In various countries, especially in environments linked to Rome or contemporary Marian spirituality, images and novenas have been spread to the Virgin of Revelation, with prayer groups that meet regularly. These forms of piety often include the meditation of the Word of God, consistent with the iconography of the Virgin who sustains the Bible.

Link to the Rosary

In the documentation available on Tre Fontane and the Virgin of Revelation no consta a specific message in which the Virgin has explicitly requested the prayer of Rosarysuch as Lourdes or Fatima. However, the Rosary is a very natural part of the devotional life of the sanctuary: many pilgrims pray to the grotto, and many communities that spread this advocation incorporate it as a regular prayer in their meetings.

From a marine perspective, the Rosary It deeply harmonizes with the spirit of this advocation. The Virgin presents herself linked to the Revelation and to the Holy Scripture; the Rosary, especially in its meditative form, is a "reading" of the Gospel with Mary, who goes through the mysteries of Christ from the Annunciation to the glory of the Lord. In this way, the prayer of the Rosary before the Virgin of Revelation helps:

– Contemplar a Cristo con los ojos de María. – Dejarse conducir por la Palabra de Dios, que la imagen subraya al mostrar a la Virgen con la Biblia. – Vivir una continuous conversion, in line with the call message to fidelity and penance attached to this advocation.

Although there is no explicit mandate on the Rosary in the known texts, the practice of praying to the Virgin of Revelation is presented as a very coherent and fruitful way of living this Marian devotion.