Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

"Mary Plain: the image that escaped from the fire on Salzburg"

Salzburg (Austria)

On the hill of Plain, near Salzburg, the Baroque shrine of Maria Plain, one of the most loved Marian places in Austria, rises. There is a Gnadenbild, an image of graces from the Virgin Mary, to which the pilgrims have for centuries left their prayers and their exvotes in a sign of gratitude.

The widespread tradition recounts that the image came from elsewhere and was miraculously saved from a fire, later being recognized as miraculous and enshrined in this sanctuary. It is the kind of story the people cherish: a painted panel spared by fire, which, intact, becomes a symbol of the Mother's protection.

Here it is to be especially honest. Beyond that core, hand-verifiable sources do not allow to specify the exact date of the fire, the place of origin of the image or contemporary written testimonies, so that these details are not safely recorded. It is public and well known that Maria Plain is a great sanctuary of pilgrimage, with pontifical coronation and abundant exvotes, but the specific verifiable examples (people, dates, recognized miracles) do not reflect the direct sources available. Out of respect for rigour, it is appropriate to distinguish the historical character of the sanctuary from the legendary details of the fire, which belong to the pious tradition.

As for the Rosary, there is also no source that establishes a specific historical link between Mary Plain and this prayer, beyond the general Marian devotion that is lived in any great sanctuary.