The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows in Castelpetroso
(From notes written by Mario Gramegna)
On March 22, 1888, in the Cesa dei Santi district of the Municipality of Castelpetroso, a thirty-five-year-old peasant woman, Bibiana Cicchino, while searching for a lost lamb, noticed an intense light coming from a cave. She approached and saw, kneeling with her eyes turned to the sky in an act of supplication, a beautiful woman—it was the Blessed Virgin Mary. At her feet lay Jesus, covered in blood and wounds. Ten days later, the apparition repeated itself in the presence of another peasant woman, Serafina Valentino. The news spread throughout Molise and neighboring regions, and the number of pilgrims soon reached thousands.
The Church, with its usual caution in the face of such extraordinary events, tasked the Bishop of Bojano, Francesco Palmieri, with conducting the initial investigations. To give him greater authority, Pope Leo XIII appointed him Apostolic Delegate with the specific task of inspecting the site of the apparitions. The Bishop expressed his conviction that it was neither a case of hysteria nor illusion, but rather a truly extraordinary event.
The press began to take an interest, especially a Marian magazine published in Bologna by the Servants of Mary, which kept the public updated with a series of reports. The magazine's director, Carlo Acquaderni, visited the blessed rock with his son Augusto in November 1888 to invoke his son's healing, as he was condemned to die from the consequences of an incurable disease, bone tuberculosis. Augusto was miraculously healed. In gratitude, Carlo Acquaderni initiated a fundraising effort, which, along with his substantial financial contribution, was used for the construction of a chapel at the site blessed by the special presence of the Madonna.
In February 1890, engineer Francesco Gualandi of Bologna delivered the project and drawings to Bishop Palmieri, and on September 28 of the same year, in the presence of thirty thousand faithful, the first stone was laid. From the beginning of the work, financial difficulties were numerous, but the generous offerings of the faithful never ceased, and the milestone reached can be considered a triumph of Faith in September 1975, when the Sanctuary was consecrated by Bishop Alberto Carinci. Meanwhile, in 1973, Pope Paul VI, by his decree, proclaimed the Blessed Virgin Mary of Sorrows, venerated in the Sanctuary of Castelpetroso, the Patroness of Molise.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows is now considered one of the most important in Southern Italy. In the central chapel, there is a sculpture that depicts the Madonna and the dead Jesus in the same posture as the apparitions.
Six other chapels are each dedicated to one of the Sorrows of the Virgin, represented by the renowned painter from Molise, Amedeo Trivisonno. The panels on the bronze doors depict the "Mysteries of the Rosary" in Revelation and Church history. The bell towers are enriched by a concert of bells made by the Marinelli foundry in Agnone. The Sanctuary's environmental setting exudes a particular charm that enhances this mystical p
(From notes written by Mario Gramegna)
On March 22, 1888, in the Cesa dei Santi district of the Municipality of Castelpetroso, a thirty-five-year-old peasant woman, Bibiana Cicchino, while searching for a lost lamb, noticed an intense light coming from a cave. She approached and saw, kneeling with her eyes turned to the sky in an act of supplication, a beautiful woman—it was the Blessed Virgin Mary. At her feet lay Jesus, covered in blood and wounds. Ten days later, the apparition repeated itself in the presence of another peasant woman, Serafina Valentino. The news spread throughout Molise and neighboring regions, and the number of pilgrims soon reached thousands.
The Church, with its usual caution in the face of such extraordinary events, tasked the Bishop of Bojano, Francesco Palmieri, with conducting the initial investigations. To give him greater authority, Pope Leo XIII appointed him Apostolic Delegate with the specific task of inspecting the site of the apparitions. The Bishop expressed his conviction that it was neither a case of hysteria nor illusion, but rather a truly extraordinary event.
The press began to take an interest, especially a Marian magazine published in Bologna by the Servants of Mary, which kept the public updated with a series of reports. The magazine's director, Carlo Acquaderni, visited the blessed rock with his son Augusto in November 1888 to invoke his son's healing, as he was condemned to die from the consequences of an incurable disease, bone tuberculosis. Augusto was miraculously healed. In gratitude, Carlo Acquaderni initiated a fundraising effort, which, along with his substantial financial contribution, was used for the construction of a chapel at the site blessed by the special presence of the Madonna.
In February 1890, engineer Francesco Gualandi of Bologna delivered the project and drawings to Bishop Palmieri, and on September 28 of the same year, in the presence of thirty thousand faithful, the first stone was laid. From the beginning of the work, financial difficulties were numerous, but the generous offerings of the faithful never ceased, and the milestone reached can be considered a triumph of Faith in September 1975, when the Sanctuary was consecrated by Bishop Alberto Carinci. Meanwhile, in 1973, Pope Paul VI, by his decree, proclaimed the Blessed Virgin Mary of Sorrows, venerated in the Sanctuary of Castelpetroso, the Patroness of Molise.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows is now considered one of the most important in Southern Italy. In the central chapel, there is a sculpture that depicts the Madonna and the dead Jesus in the same posture as the apparitions.
Six other chapels are each dedicated to one of the Sorrows of the Virgin, represented by the renowned painter from Molise, Amedeo Trivisonno. The panels on the bronze doors depict the "Mysteries of the Rosary" in Revelation and Church history. The bell towers are enriched by a concert of bells made by the Marinelli foundry in Agnone. The Sanctuary's environmental setting exudes a particular charm that enhances this mystical p