OUR LADY OF GRACES

Day 240: January 07

Our Lady of Graces, Costa Folgaria, Trento, Italy



This sanctuary was constructed by the monk Pietro Dal Dosso, who received from Our Lady, during an ecstasy (January 1588), the order to go to his native town, and to build a chapel in her honor, in the meadow he owned in Ecken, one kilometer from Folgaria. Pietro Dal Dosso, son of Andrea di Giovanni, a young man educated in virtue by his pious parents, had given his name to the Religious Institute of Blessed Peter of Pisa, in the Convent of Bassano and then of Treviso, as a lay friar. He lived a modest and exemplary life, which made him loved by all.

Above all, he had a great devotion to Our Lady, which he spread among those he knew. For this reason, in 1588, having obtained permission from his superiors, he returned to his native town, and urged his fellow citizens to build a chapel in honor of Our Lady, without however revealing to them the vision he had had and the order received; he revealed his secret only on his deathbed, on April 27, 1634.

He himself indicated the place, on his farm in Ecken which is located at an altitude of 1230 meters, and procured the first aid for the construction which, in a short time, was completed; in the same year he obtained authorization to use it for sacred functions. He himself carried on his shoulders a statue of Mary which, in an inventory of 1626, is called "di terra bassanese", still venerated today in the sacred building.

There are many miracles that are told of that occurred during construction. The statue transferred to the parish church of Folgaria, would have been found three times in the chapel located on the mountain. Pietro Dal Dosso himself, injured during the construction, after detaching a finger from his hand, under a boulder that had fallen on him, would heal in a few hours. A child, bitten by a poisonous snake, was miraculously saved. After a terrible storm, the snow that fell on the spot took the form of roses and lilies, carved in ice, and bright stars, while the wind brought melodious music.

Already in 1637 the Chapel was enlarged, and in 1662 the beautiful bell tower was built. A further expansion took place in 1700, on the initiative of the Community of Folgaria, and new touches in 1885.

After the war of 1914-1918 a radical and total restoration was necessary, due to the many ruins suffered in these borderlands. On September 8, 1951, the Capuchin Fathers were entrusted with the custody of the Sanctuary, and the first stone of the Hospice was blessed which, thanks to the generosity of the population, was built in a very short time, so much so that it could be inaugurated as early as September 8, 1952.

During the Marian year, on 1 August 1954, the statue of Our Lady and Child was crowned by Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Patriarch of Venice and future Pope John XXIII.

Then with the Papal Bull, dated January 7, 1955, Pius XII proclaimed Our Lady of Graces of Folgaria, Distinguished and Principal Patroness of all Skiers in Italy.

It is beautiful to reread the very words of Pope Pius XII: "In the ardent desire that the whole of Christian life, like all artistic manifestations, be informed by the principles of faith and piety, and that in the painful and critical situation of today devotion to the Mother of God may be spread with greater intensity, We have thought of graciously accepting this supplication... We assign and declare the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of "Our Lady of Graces of Folgaria", distinguished and principal patroness of all skiers in Italy, with all the honors and privileges that are rightfully due to the principal patrons."


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"We salute you as Queen, we acclaim you as Queen, we crown you as Queen! With immense joy we acknowledge your royal rights over every creature, O Mary!"

(Justin Russolillo, Spirit of Prayer, trans. Louis Caputo, Vocationist Fathers, Newark, 1996, p. 153)

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