Our Lady of Pompeii

Our Lady of Pompeii

Unlike so many of Our Lady’s titles, which go back centuries for their origin, this one is quite recent. By the last half of the nineteenth century the Valley of Pompeii, near Naples, was practically deserted. Of the comparatively few people who still lived there, most had lost their ancient Catholic faith; ignorance and superstition prevailed. Only a handful of people bothered to attend the services in the little parish chapel.

In October 1872, a man named Bartolo Longo came to the valley. He was the husband of the Countess of Fusco, who had some property there; and Bartolo came to see what condition it was in. He had been reared a Catholic and was probably still one in name, although it seems he was not very devout.

On October 9th, a few days after his arrival, he was walking along a rather desolate road when suddenly a voice seemed to speak to him. It told him that if he wished to be saved, he should spread devotion to the Rosary. His early efforts to interest people in the Rosary devotion did not seem to have been successful at first, but he persisted and within 2 years, he had gathered quite a group of people to pray in the little chapel.

The Bishop visited the valley in 1875 and complimented Bartolo on the good work he had done. He suggested that a church be built there in honor of Our Lady of Pompeii. As the number of devotees grew, it was decided to obtain a picture of the Blessed Virgin to help the people meditate as they prayed. On October 13, 1875, Bartolo Longo went to Naples, and after searching for a good picture, he found nothing less than 400 francs, and he had nothing close to that amount to spend.

But not wanting to go back empty handed, he reluctantly accepted a second-hand painting from a junk store for 5 lire. The painting shows the Blessed Mother with baby Jesus and St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena near her, as they are handed Rosary beads by Mary and Jesus. The painting arrived safely on a truck and the people accepted it willingly, and enshrined it in their chapel. Almost immediately, several miracles took place through Mary’s intercession as Our Lady of Pompeii. A bigger church was built on the initiative of Bartolo Longo between 1876 and 1891, and a bigger basilica was ordered by Pope Pius XII and opened in 1939. But we acknowledge today Bartolo Longo for pursuing his dream to build  a beautiful church and spread the Marian devotion.