OUR LADY OF GIBILMANNA

Day 274: February 10

Our Lady of Gibilmanna, Cefalù, Palermo, Italy



The sanctuary stands in the middle of oak and chestnut woods, at 800 metres above sea level. The name itself indicates its position (Gebel, mountain) associated with the now disappeared production of manna. The image of Our Lady of oriental origin was venerated in an ancient monastery founded by St Gregory the Great.

Feast of Our Lady of Gibilmanna, patron saint of the diocese of Cefalù (PA), is on the first Sunday of September. The celebrations take place at the beautiful Sanctuary of Gibilmanna, attracting pilgrims and devotees from all over the world. In this Sanctuary the Crucifix spoke to a monk saying, "Here my mother reigns... turn to her for graces." Inside the Sanctuary is kept the image of the Madonna under which a lamp burns incessantly. Every year, the oil that feeds the lamp is offered to Our Lady by one of the various municipalities of the Diocese.

During the feast days, crowds of pilgrims go to the foot of the Sanctuary to honor the Mother of God, sweetly depicted in the image that we all know as "OUR LADY OF GIBILMANNA." The procession is composed of the confraternities, the clergy, the civil and military authorities, the band and the numerous faithful who have come from the various towns of the diocese. After the procession, in the large square located near the Sanctuary, the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration takes place with the offering of gifts and oil, at the end of the function the Lamp is placed on the altar and lit; then it is carried in procession inside the Sanctuary and placed at the foot of the image of Our Lady.

Gibilmanna is a hamlet of Cefalù and is located on the slopes of Pizzo Sant'Angelo at an altitude of 795 meters above sea level, within the Madonie Park. In the locality there are the Sanctuary of Gibilmanna, the Museum of Fra Giammaria da Tusa, with the adjoining library, while the Benedictine monastery founded by St Gregory the Great and a small church dedicated to St Michael the Archangel no longer exist.

In 1785 the altar for the chapel of the Madonna was arranged, the work of Baldassarre Pampilonia from Palermo, intended for a chapel in the cathedral of Palermo, but no longer put in place. The altar includes the marble statues of St John the Baptist, by Scipione Casella, and St Helena, by Fazio Gagini. The portico that included the church collapsed and the façade of the church was redone in neo-Gothic style in 1907. The churchyard was adorned in 1927, in place of the previous iron cross, with a monument dedicated to St Francis (the work of Francesco Garufi on a project by the architect Misuraca), donated by Dr Gaetano Saeli. In 1954 Pope Pius XII declared Our Lady of Gibilmanna the patroness of the diocese and city of Cefalù.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"We unite ourselves, O Mary to the Saints, to the Angels and especially to your Holy Parents Joachim and Anne, to your Spouse Saint Joseph, bowing to you and greeting you, on behalf of the Blessed Trinity, full of grace in the Mystery of the Holy Annunciation."

(Justin Russolillo, Spirit of Prayer, trans. Louis Caputo, Vocationist Fathers, Newark, 1996, p. 157)

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