OUR LADY OF SCHIAVO

Day 187: November 15

Our Lady of Schiavo, Carloforte, Carbonia-Iglesias, Sardinia, Italy



In 1542 a nucleus of sailors and fishermen managed by the powerful Genoese family of Lomellini settled on the coast and on the islet of Tabarka in Tunisia, for a series of profitable commercial traffic. Initially, coexistence with the natives seemed peaceful, but when the coral reef also began to decline, problems began.

Anything could become a pretext to use violence against the Christian community. Blackmail and slavery became the only weapons imposed by those who reigned in Tunis or Algiers at that time.

Tired of this dangerous situation, they asked to be repatriated or moved to a quieter area in order to continue their trade and in 1738 King Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy directed them to the island of the Sparrowhawks, then deserted, which today is called San Pietro and is located near the south-western coast of Sardinia.

Grateful for the satisfactory arrangement, the new inhabitants of the island erected a statue in honor of the King in the main square of the town (U Pàize) which was called Carloforte as a sign of recognition and loyalty. The parish church was dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo. The King donated for the occasion a valuable painting depicting the Patron Saint, still located in the apse of the Church.On September 3, 1798, in the very early hours of the morning, the crews of three Algerian privateers landed in the port of Carloforte and the island suffered a ferocious pirate raid. About half of the island's inhabitants were captured, deported and held as slaves in Tunis.On the morning of November 15, 1800, a slave named Nicola Moretto, a boy who had managed to make himself well-liked by his master and who therefore enjoyed a certain freedom, found a statue of dark lime wood on the beach of Nabeul, near Tunis. Consumed by storms and corroded by salt, it still retained the features of an Immaculate Madonna. The boy hid it in his cloak and brought it home without showing it to the other Muslim servants. He then gave it to Don Nicolò Segni. the whole community acclaimed this arrival as a sign that the Blessed Virgin had not abandoned them.

The period of slavery ended three years later, on June 24, 1803, the day on which they were ransomed and were able to return to their homeland, thanks to the conspicuous payment of King Charles Emmanuel IV of Savoy to make them return to Sardinia. The small statue of the Madonna was also brought to Carloforte and the homonymous Church of the "Madonna dello Schiavo" was built to accommodate it.

The title of Our Lady of Schiavo (Madonna dello Schiavo) was coined by Canon Gabriele Pagani in 1924, previously the sacred image was known as the Black Madonna.

The patron saint's feast, preceded by a solemn novena, occurs every year on November 15th. The celebrations, of a strictly religious nature, culminate on the evening of the 15th with a solemn procession. The coronation of the simulacrum took place on November 15, 1964.


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