OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR

Day 260: January 27

Our Lady of the Pillar in Castenaso, Bologna, Italy



Castenaso, a town 10.8 kilometers away from Bologna, has its origins before the Christian era. Its name, in fact, derives from the fact that in 186 BC the Roman consul Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica set up camp on the right bank of the Idice stream, in front of the camp of the Gauls. Hence the name "Castrum Nasicae", camp of Nasica, and then Castenaso.

The town's coat of arms from 1852 recalls this page of history: in the center the amphora pouring water denotes the Idice stream, on the right the Roman camp, surrounded by a wooden fence, with the emblems and eagle of the Roman legion; in front of it the Gallic camp with the pike surmounted by the horse's head, the shield or ombron, the cusp (short sword) with a cross handle, the torque or collar formed in the form of two twisted ropes that the Gauls wore around their necks, and the armilla, a large bronze ring that they used to wear on their arm near the humerus.

The Gauls had defeated the Romans in 216 BC in the Litana Forest, but were defeated by Nasica in 186 BC.

About three kilometers south of the capital, stands the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Pillar, or as it is popularly called, Madonna del Pilaro. Since 1315, not far from the Idice, there was a small church dedicated to the Holy Virgin, known as Holy Mary of the Tombs or of the Snow, which then passed, with the adjacent land, into the property of the Spanish College of Bologna, founded in 1364 by Cardinal Albornoz.

The church changed its name because in 1672 a painting by the painter G. B. Bolognini senior was placed in it, representing Our Lady of the Pillar with the Apostle St James the Greater and the Martyr St Peter de Arbues, a student of the College of Spain.

Devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar takes us back to the origins of Christianity. A constant tradition, supported by the testimony of ancient and probable writers and confirmed with numerous privileges by Supreme Pontiffs, attests to us that the glorious Apostle St James the Greater, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, departed from Jerusalem and arrived in Spain to preach the Gospel.

In Zaragoza, on the banks of the Ebro, Our Lady, still living in Jerusalem, appeared to him on a column (Pilar), encouraging him and confirming him in his apostolic mission. Hence the first Marian apparition in history.

Not far from the small church of the Madonna del Pilar or Pilaro, lives a family of peasants, Giambattista Azzaroni with his wife Isabella Mazzoli and five children. The eldest daughter, Mary Magdalene, passing in front of the church, used to stop for a few moments to honor the Virgin with devout prayers.

On Tuesday, January 27, 1699, her mother instructed her to go to her aunt, not far away, to ask her for a measure of vinegar. That time, Mary Magdalene, in a hurry, passed in front of the Image of Our Lady without stopping to greet her. After a few steps she seemed to hear a voice calling her by name.

She turned around, but seeing no one, she hurriedly continued her journey. Having collected what was requested of his aunt, she hurried her steps home. Passing in front of the church she heard again the mysterious voice that said more clearly to her: "Mary Magdalene, do you no longer continue your devotion to Our Lady?"

Astonished and confused, the young girl approaches the church and, clasping her hands to her chest, fixed her gaze on the Image of Mary and prayed. The Blessed Virgin, as if detaching herself from the painting, came to meet her, lovingly shook her hands and recommended her to be devoted to her always.

Filled with great joy, Mary Magdalene, after praying for a long time, returned home and joyfully announced the miracle with which she had been favored. The news spread in a flash, the parish priest, Don Sebastiano Bianconcini, questioned her, the Vicar General of the Diocese of Bologna established a regular canonical process.

In the meantime, the image, the Virgin Mary of the Pillar, became a destination for pilgrims. The influx was so conspicuous that the Curia decided to use the offerings to build the Sanctuary in four years, which over time was embellished and enlarged, equipped with the beautiful Bell Tower, designed by Gulli, up to its current form. Inaugurated in 1704, the miraculous image was then moved, from the oratory to the temple, only in 1743 and on the occasion Pope Benedict XIV (Prospero Lambertini) granted three days of plenary indulgence.

Maria Maddalena Azzaroni, the fortunate seer, on December 21, 1702 consecrated herself to the Lord in the Convent of Santa Cristina in Senigallia, where, after a life entirely dedicated to devotion to Our Lady, in 1744 she had the joy of going to contemplate Her in Paradise.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"The love of the Father and Son is your dowry; the Spirit of the Father and the Son is your Spouse, O Mary; He crowns you with a crown of special graces."

(Justin Russolillo, Spirit of Prayer, trans. Louis Caputo, Vocationist Fathers, Newark, 1996, p. 155)

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