Virgin of Montesanto

Rome, Italy (1659)

On the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, a small Carmelite church called St. Mary of the Holy Mountain housed a miraculous Madonna and Child, believed to have been painted by an 11-year-old girl with supernatural help.

After the painting was canonically crowned on Decembers, 1659, Cardinal Gerolamo Gastaldi decided to build the Madonna a more splendid sanctuary. It was the work of three great architects. Gian Lorenzo Bernini modified Carlo Rainaldi’s original plan to give the building an oval shape more in keeping with its site, and Carlo Fontana supervised its completion in 1679. In 1953, Pius XII designated the Basilica di Santa Maria in Montesanto the official church for artists, who still come before the Virgin seeking help.

 

Text and image used with permission.
Source: "365 Days with Mary" by Michael O'Neill

Download the free "365 Days with Mary" app

Listen to "365 Days with Mary" each week on The Miracle Hunter® on EWTN Radio