OUR LADY OF THE FLOOR

Day 318: March 26

Our Lady of the Floor (Madonna del Piano), Apparition of Bianzone, Sondrio



The sanctuary, located in the middle of Valtellina, among apple orchards and terraced vineyards, can be reached by train, bus or private vehicle and is open on holidays for Holy Mass. It probably has medieval origins due to popular devotion, but it was built as a sanctuary in 1675 following the apparition of Our Lady (on March 26) to a local man.

He reported that the Virgin asked to: "to raise an altar and reduce to a more honorable state, my temple situated there on this floor."

The work of reconstruction and embellishment lasted several years because it was not continuous and continued even into the eighteenth century.

On the eve of the feast of the Assumption in 1870, the sanctuary, which had always been threatened by the Valle stream, was invaded by water and debris: the doors were broken down and mud, boulders and trees ended up outside and inside the church. The statue of Our Lady was found intact in the sacristy. From that day on, the church remained closed to worship.

After the Second World War the sanctuary gradually lost interest and in 1961 it was devastated by unknown persons who removed the simulacrum of Our Lady.

Now the church has risen again with its beautiful architectural structure, restored and reopened for worship in the presence of H.E. the Bishop on September 22, 1985.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"O Mary, be present at all our practices of piety, at all our vocal and mental prayers, in every form of ministry of the Word! O Mary, be present in us who speak and in those who hear us."

(Justin Russolillo, Devotional, Vocationist Editions, Pianura, 2009, p. 93)

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