A special devotion to the
Blessed Mother of Pompeii is celebrated today in various churches. One of the
persons who spread the devotion towards Our Lady of Pompeii is an Italian man
who was beatified in 1980 by Pope St. John Paul II. His name was Bartolo Longo
who built a huge Basilica in 1883 in Pompeii in Mary’s honor.
Pompeii, along with Herculaneum was destroyed
by a volcanic eruption of Mt Vesuvius in the first century AD. 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 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. Bartolo fell on his knees and replied
that if the Virgin had truly so promised then he would be saved; he would not
leave the valley until he had popularized the Rosary. His early efforts to
interest the people in the Rosary devotion do not seem to have been very
successful, but he persisted, and in two or three years he had gathered quite a
group around him for the daily recitation of the prayers 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, and then, turning prophet, the Bishop pointed to a field near the
chapel and declared that someday a basilica would stand on that spot.
Bartolo Longo with some of the children in Pompeii |
As the number of people
taking part in the daily recitation of the Rosary grew, it was decided to
obtain a picture of the Blessed Virgin, to help the faithful meditate as they
prayed. On October 13, 1875, Bartolo went to Naples to see if he could find a
suitable picture, but after searching for several days, to his great
disappointment, he found that any really good picture would cost around four
hundred francs, and he had nowhere near that amount to spend. He didn’t want to
return empty-handed, however, and disappoint the good people of Pompeii, so he
somewhat reluctantly accepted a second-hand painting from a junk store for five
lire
(today a few cents worth). A trucker not
knowing what the package contained pitched it on top of a load of garbage and
so the picture arrived at the chapel. The people were pleased with the
dilapidated picture and enshrined it. Almost immediately several miracles took
place through Mary’s intercession as Our Lady of Pompeii. The Miraculous
painting of Our Lady of Pompeii was restored three times, and crowned with two
golden crowns, one for Mary and one for baby Jesus. The painting shows Mary
with baby Jesus and two saints who spread the devotion of the Rosary, St
Dominic and St Catherine of Siena. With the approval of Pope Leo XIII, the
church was built between 1876 and 1891. A new basilica was built between 1934
and 1939, ordered by Pope Pius XI. Many people visit this beautiful Church near
Naples every May 8, when her feast day is celebrated. The devotion is also
popular in Malta, where a church is dedicated to her in the parish of
Marsaxlokk.
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