Our Lady of Pompey of Chicago

Marian Invocation of Chicago (Illinois)

The advocation venerated in the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii of Chicago is spiritually linked to Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeia, which emerged in the second half of the 19th century in the Pompeii valley, near Naples, Italy. The feast of this advocation is traditionally celebrated 8 May. The Chicago shrine takes back precisely this Marian title and this date, in the context of Italian immigration into the United States.

Main data

Origin and history

The advocation venerated in the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii of Chicago is spiritually linked to Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeia, which emerged in the second half of the 19th century in the Pompeii valley, near Naples, Italy. The feast of this advocation is traditionally celebrated 8 May. The Chicago shrine takes back precisely this Marian title and this date, in the context of Italian immigration into the United States.

The origin documented history of the Chicago shrine, it is a Catholic temple of Latin rite founded by and for the Italian-American community in the district of Little Italyin Chicago, Illinois, United States. According to the information available in the documentation of the sanctuary itself and of the archdiocese (not accessible in Spanish), this temple was established as a spiritual center of Italian immigrants and was entrusted to their pastoral care, taking as their patron the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeya, very widespread among Italians since the late 19th century.

There is no detailed account in the accessible Spanish sources of specific dates of foundation, canonical erecting as a sanctuary, or an exhaustive chronology of parish or rector; therefore, no consta with certainty an exact date of foundation in the data verified here. Similarly, no constan Chicago's specific legendary traditions about apparitions or miracles directly linked to the local image: devotion is based above all on the known history of the Virgin of Pompeia in Italy and on the spiritual experience of the Italian-American community.

The image and the sanctuary

The invocation is that of Our Lady of Pompeia / Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeia, that is, the Virgin of the Rosary represented according to the iconography that emerged in Pompeya (Italy), which usually shows the Virgin with the Child Jesus by giving up the Rosary, in relation to the Dominican tradition. The sources of general consultation on the Virgin of Pompeya indicate its character as an image of the Rosary, associated with the preaching of Bartolo Longo and the Italian sanctuary. However, with regard to the concrete image venerated in the Chicago shrine (exact type of image, material, author, measurements, date of realization or entronization), no constan precise and documented data in the sources consulted in Spanish; therefore, their material and authorship are not specified.

The temple is usually named after Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii (Sanctuary of Our Lady of Pompeia) and is located in the area of Little Italyin Chicago, state of Illinois. It's a rite sanctuary. católico latino, linked to the local archdiocese. It is not known that it has been declared minor basilica ni National sanctuary by the Episcopal Conference of the United States, nor that it has any other specific pontifical dignity: no consta which currently has the title of basilica, national sanctuary or Marian of higher rank. It is therefore a diocesan historical santuary of the Italian-American community of Chicago, dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii.

Sponsorship and coronation

The devotion of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeia is deeply rooted in Italian tradition and has radiated to various parts of the world. In the case of the shrine of Chicago, the Virgin of Pompeii is venerated in a special way as spiritual and patron reference of the Italian-American community of Little Italy and its ecclesial environment. However, in the sources accessible in Spanish no consta a formal proclamation of canonical patronage over the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois or the archdiocese; no documents have been found indicating an official civil (city or municipality) patronage linked to this advocation in Chicago. It can therefore only be said rigorously that it acts as patron saint of the Italian-American community associated with the sanctuary.

On a canonical coronation specific to the venerated image in Chicago, does not contain a documented canonical coronation (no date, no pontiff, no delegate) in the sources consulted. Canonical coronation is well documented for the original image of Pompeya (Italy), but no reliable reference to a similar coronation applied to the image of the Chicago shrine has been found.

Party and devotion

La main party linked to this vocation is the 8 Mayin line with the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, as it is celebrated in the Italian sanctuary and has been spread in the devotional calendar associated with this advocation. In the Chicago shrine, this date is of a prominent character, with liturgical celebrations and devotional acts that bring together especially the Italian-American community.

In addition to the May 8 feast, devotion is extended throughout the year through the celebration of Holy Mass, the prayer of the Rosary and other Marian expressions of the faithful linked to the sanctuary. No official figures of Annual flow in the sources consulted in Spanish; therefore no if ofrecen numerical data of pilgrims. What is clear is the place of memory and faith of Italian immigration in Chicago: the sanctuary functions as a religious and cultural reference point, with participation in Marian processions, community acts and celebrations that integrate elements of Italian tradition and the Marian piety of the Rosary.

Link to the Rosary

La advocación de Our Lady of Pompeia is, at its origin, one of the most strongly associated forms of Our Lady of the Rosary. The same name "Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeia" indicates that the core of this devotion is the Holy Rosary, understood as a way of meditation of the mysteries of Christ from the hand of Mary. In the spirituality that emerged in Pompeya (Italy), the prayer of the Rosary and the famous "Replica to the Virgin of Pompeya" of 8 May occupy a central place in the life of the faithful.

The Chicago shrine, by assuming this Marian title, participates in the same rosarian identity. Although they do not contain, in the sources in Spanish consulted, detailed descriptions of times or concrete forms of community prayer of the Rosary in the Chicago shrine, it is consistent with the tradition of the advocation that the Rosario occupies a privileged lugar in his devotional life, especially around 8 May. Where the Virgin of Pompeia is venerated, the Rosary becomes a school of faith, of contemplation of the mysteries of the life of Christ and of intercession entrusted to Mary, particularly accompanying the families and communities marked by the history of migration and the search for a new homeland.