OUR LADY OF THE ROCK

Day 289: February 25

Our Lady of the Rock, Cornuda, Treviso, Italy



On the hill overlooking the town of Cornuda (TV), stands the Sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of the Annunciation, which, however, since it is located on the ruins of an ancient fortress, is known as the "Sanctuary of the Madonna di Rocca" (Our Lady of the Rock).

The Piave flows slowly through the valley; Mount Grappa and Montello are the backdrop, making the whole area sacred for religious and historical memories with their names, so dear to the hearts of Italians.

The first news concerning the area dates back to the ninth century. To defend itself from the devastating incursions of the Hungarians who descended from the Urals and brought death and looting to Eastern Europe and Italy, the March of Treviso tried to fortify itself with a series of fortresses placed in dominant and strategic passages. Among the many fortifications there is also the Rock of Cornuda.

A bull of 1245, in which the Parish Church of San Martino in Cornuda is mentioned, tells us that the Rocca (Rock) is a possession of the Bishop of Treviso, then occupied by Ezzelino da Romano, the cruel tyrant who raged in all those areas.

In the first official document concerning the Rock of Cornuda, Pope Gregory IX wrote to Bishop Pietro Pino of Treviso to excommunicate the tyrant Ezzelino, if he refused to return some occupied fortresses, including that of Cornuda.

During the years of Ezzelino's rule, who was believed to be the son of the Devil for his cruelty, the local populations suffered harassment and abuse of all kinds. The prisons of Cornuda become a place of terror and torture; many people, nobles and commoners, were left to die of hunger there. These sad facts feed the imagination of the people affected by such cruelty.

Historical events soon led to the extinction of the Ezzelini family and in 1264 the fortress returned to the hands of the Bishop and then passed to the municipality of Treviso.

When war broke out between the Treviso and the Scaligeri, Can Grande della Scala, with a strong army, advanced as far as the Rocca di Cornuda. Cortesino da Strasso, captain of the Rocca, with 400 soldiers and his ally, Francesco da Muliparte of Maser, tried to stop the advance, but nothing could prevent total defeat.

In 1316 Can Grande had the Rocca destroyed, which was never rebuilt, but left its name to the Sanctuary that stands on the ruins of the Chapel of the Rocca.

A tradition, or a legend, widespread among the people, attributes the origin of the Marian devotion on the Rocca to an apparition of the Virgin on a rocky boulder between whose fissures a centuries-old oak tree is rooted that remains luxuriant until 2008.

Popular devotion led to the construction of a small chapel, dedicated to Our Lady, which followed the fate of the fortress in the various destructions and reconstructions.

The most probable opinion is that the Sanctuary was built by the faithful in thanksgiving to Our Lady for having freed them from the cruel tyranny of the Ezzelini. The founding document of the Rectorate of our Lady of the Rock is given by the will of 1247 of the nobleman Annibale Scala, in which it is said: "Being the master of the Rock with its appurtenances, he wants this place to be left to a priest of good life and fame elected by the Archpriest and Masser of Cornuda who has continuous residence in said place."

A manuscript of 1750 tells of a prodigious event that took place in 1725, reporting the story of the person himself pardoned, then still alive. Mr Pier Francesco Recco narrates that, at the age of 12, together with one of his companions, tried to detach a huge stone that was leaning against it from the wall. The stone began to roll. His partner had time to escape, but Pier Francesco risked being inevitably crushed. He barely had time to cry out: "Mary, Virgin of Rocca, save me!"

The family rushed to that cry and saw what happened, they were stunned by the fright. With great effort they removed the stone, and to their amazement they found the child perfectly unharmed. A votive tablet, hanging on the side of the altar, still represents and testifies to the tragic and moving scene.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"As every suffering of Jesus was your suffering, so too every grace, every glory, every child of those sufferings is also your grace, your glory and your child!"

(Justin Russolillo, Spirit of Prayer, trans. Louis Caputo, Vocationist Fathers, Newark, 1996, p. 158)

Comments

Post a Comment

Hot Picks

OUR LADY OF MELIAPORE

Image
Day 47: June 26 This is the shrine in the East Indies, where Saint Francis Xavier often retired to pray during his eleven years with the people of India. The Blessed Virgin Mary was Francis’ constant source of strength and inspiration. The image before which Saint Francis used to pray is called Mylai Matha in Tamil, or Our Lady of Mylapore in English. It is an ancient statue about three feet tall, Our Lady of Meliapore can still be venerated at the church. The church of Saint Thomas of Mylapore – spelled somewhat differently from the above – contains Mary’s shrine. According to tradition, the Apostle Saint Thomas came to India in 52 AD. Due to his success making converts to the True Faith, he was persecuted and finally martyred in the year 72 AD. Saint Thomas is buried at the shrine of Our Lady of Meliapore, and there are relics of Saint Francis Xavier. There was a church known to be in Mylapore going back to the 1st century, and built by St Thomas. According to tradition, there was a ...
Read more

Marian Year 2025-26

Image
  MARIAN YEAR The year 2026 marks the first centenary of the apparition of Our Lady to St Justin Russolillo, the Founder of the Vocationists. As the feast of Our Lady of Divine Vocations falls on May 11, the year preceding to that year (May 11 2025 – May 11 2026) has been declared to be celebrated as Marian Year by the Vocationists. The reason behind this year-long celebration is, as Pope Pius XII decreed prior to the Marian Year in 1953 on the occasion of the first centenary of the definition of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother, “that the faith of the people may be increased and their devotion to the Virgin Mother of God become daily more inflamed.” As Rev. Fr. Louis Caputo SDV rightly points out, “the life of Fr. Justin here on earth began with the…apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary…, it developed in the shadow of Mary and ended in union with Mary.” The birth of Justin was preceded by an announcement by the Blessed Virgin Mary to Fr. Sa...
Read more

OUR LADY OF DIVINE VOCATIONS

Image
The Devotion to Our Lady of Divine Vocations The devotion to Our Lady of Divine Vocations has its foundation on the Marian Apparition that St Justin Russolillo had on May 10, 1926. He was praying breviary near a hut made of straws called pagliarella. St. Justin describes it in his diary (Book of the Soul) "May 10, 1926, first day of the Rogations. It was given to me the certainty that the Blessed Trinity has given the Blessed Lady the Office of the Immediate Superior of the Society of Divine Vocations and therefore of all the offices, mansions, studies, works, spheres and everything. She is the authority of the Society. Glory and thanks to God and Mary. Therefore, the established practice of having one person always present and on guard in the room dedicated to Our Lady to honor and venerate her perpetually." After the Marian Apparition, St Justin rushed to the rectory of St George's parish in Pianura where he used to be the parish priest. He asked Fr Luigi Diodato to pre...
Read more