OUR LADY OF THE RAIN

Day 315: March 23

Our Lady of the Rain, Bologna



A chronicle of 1851 speaks of the discovery of the Marian image that was at the origin of the construction of the church: the fire of a house along the walls had caused the fall of wood and rubble, which were not removed until 1367, when excavations were carried out in the area to create the new Reno Canal, now buried, and bring water to the mills. During the work, a painting of the Madonna and Child emerged intact from the rubble.

The image was placed in the oratory of San Bartolomeo di Reno, built in 1204 and owned by the Compagnia dei Mercanti. Attached to this church there were rooms, initially used as a shelter for pilgrims heading to Rome, then in 1330 they were used as a hospital for the poor and in 1527 intended for the reception of orphans. The image also took the name of Madonna dei Putti di San Bartolomeo, and became the object of great veneration following the episode of the miraculous healing of a blind man.

In 1561, a year of persistent drought with the threat of a terrible famine, the painting was repeatedly carried in procession to the four ancient city crosses. The processions took place at the beginning of August, and at the end of the month came the long-awaited rain. From this event Marian image took its new name as Our Lady of the Rain. Since then, every year, the image was carried in procession to one of the four crosses of the city, making it stay there for eight days, at the end of which it was taken to the churchyard of San Petronio for the blessing of the city.

In 1604 the image was transferred from the oratory to the church below, where on March 21 of the same year it was crowned with a silver crown weighing over half a kilo, adorned with precious stones. In 1621 the brothers of San Bartolomeo asked and obtained to title the image with the name of Our Lady of the Rain (Madonna della Pioggia), which still distinguishes it today. 

In 1732 it was placed in the niche above the main altar, in place of a terracotta statue of St Bartholomew. From that moment on, the church assumed the double dedication, to San Bartolomeo and to the Madonna della Pioggia, and the traditional procession, which continued until the removal of the crosses during the French domination, was moved to the third Sunday of Lent.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"Come, O holy Mary, make yours our souls, our houses, our perpetual cenacles of the Eucharist, of the priesthood, of the Holy Spirit! Come to us as in the house of john, the beloved disciple of Jesus and yours, your new son, your priest."

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

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