Our Lady of the Guard 2
Savona, Italy (1490)
According to tradition, on August 29, 1490 the Virgin Mary appeared to a peasant Benedetto Pareto and asked him to build a chapel.
He replied that he was only a poor man. The Virgin Mary exhorted him “Be not afraid!”
Nevertheless, Pareto went home and did not speak with anyone. A few days later he was injured falling from a tree. The Virgin Mary appeared to him again and he was miraculously healed.
The event convinced him to speak about the apparition and seek help to build the chapel.
The first chapel was built by Pareto himself in the site of the apparition. Due to the increasing flow of pilgrims, a shrine was built in 1530. A new shrine was later built in 1890. It was raised to the title of Basilica in 1915 by Pope Benedict XV.
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