(Bologna) Every year in the northern Italian city of Bologna, the miraculous image of Our Lady is seen all over the city from near and far during a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of St. Luke in the city's cathedral. The statue dates from the middle of the 12th Century. Since that time, this devotion is located at Colle della Guardia, on which now stands the great pilgrimage church.
The local tradition attributes the miraculous image to the evangelist Luke, whose remains are located in the nearby city of Padua in part. According to tradition, a pilgrim had called Theocles get the icon in Constantinople by the monks of St. Sophia, to bring them up to the Colle della Guardia. In Italy he learned that this hill is located near Bologna. He handed over the icon to the local bishop, who entrusted it to two sisters who lived in a small monastery on the hill. In 1732 an imposing sanctuary was built on the hill.
The miraculous image corresponds to the representation of Maria Hodegetria, the Mother of God with Baby Jesus is shown as Guide. The Byzantine original was attributed to the evangelist Luke, however, was lost in 1453 when the city was conquered by the Turks. There are numerous other images of Mary modeled after the original, the Roman miraculous image Salus Populi Romani in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in front of which Pope Francis has already prayed twice, as the Black Madonna of Czestochowa and the no less famous Mother of God of Kazan, but also the miraculous image of Bologna.
The veneration of the image intensified from 1433. As a long-lasting rainfall endangered the harvest, people determined to bring the picture of grace in the city. On the day of the transfer, the rain stopped. Since then, the transfer takes place annually. In the 17th/18th Centuries there was a 3.7 kilometer long arcade to allow for its dry passage.
The stay in St. Peter Cathedral of the Archdiocese runs from the eve of the Sixth Sunday after Easter (the fifth Sunday according to the old Liturgical Calendar) to the Solemnity of the Ascension which is celebrated in Italy on the following Sunday.
The week in which the miraculous image is located in the Cathedral, is always rich in liturgical events. Since 2011, one of the Holy Sacrifices of the Mass has been celebrated in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. It is celebrated by the priests Cardinal Archbishop Carlo Caffarra has entrusted with the care of the Mass location according to Summorum Pontificum.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Wikicommons / Archdiocese of Bologna
Image: Wikicommons / Archdiocese of Bologna
Translation: Tancred
