Our Lady of Rossano
Italy (6th c.)
The cult of Our Lady Acheropita began in the town of Rossano in Calabria, Italy. In a small cave at the end of the sixth century, lived a Saint Ephrem, a hermit very devoted to the Virgin Mary.
It is said that in 580, Captain Mauricio, cleared by the winds reached Rossano. The monk Ephrem came to greet him: “lt was not the winds that led you here, but Our Lady, for you will be appointed emperor once you build her a temple.” In 582, Mauricio was crowned emperor of Macedonia, which covered part of the territories that are now Greece and Italy.
In 590, the emperor got Mauritius, Emperor of Constantinople, to transform the cave into a shrine dedicated to Our Lady.
Text and image used with permission.
Source: "365 Days with Mary" by Michael O'Neill
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