marian calendar     january

January 19

Maria Santissima della Cava, Marsala, Trapani, Sicily, Italy

On January 19 Marsala commemorates the anniversary of the finding of the statue of St. Mary of the Quarry in 1518, after four years of digging led by Agustinian friar Leonardo Savina, who had dreamed that an ancient image was hidden in a cave, his persistence encouraged by the Madonna's voice repeating, "Cava! Cava!"[1] When the statue finally came to light, a number of miraculous healings occurred, and the underground site became a place of pilgrimage and worship. A church was built over the cave in 1607.  At the 250th anniversary, in 1788, the city named the Madonna della Cava its patron.[2] A larger church was completed in 1859.[3] When a bomb destroyed it May 11, 1943, the statue remained intact.[4]

Sources:

Photo: Town website, "Madonna della Cava," web.comunemarsala.it

1. "Il Santuario della Madonna della Cava," Marsala, un'esperienza spirituale, www.marsalaspirituale.it/santuario-della-madonna-della-cava.html
2. "Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Quarry," Marsala, www2.comune.marsala.tp.it/marsala_tour/en/sc_madonna_cava.html
3. "SANTUARIO DELLA MADONNA DELLA CAVA," TURISMO MARSALA, www.turismocomunemarsala.com/santuario-della-madonna-della-cava.html
4. "Il simulacro di Maria SS. della Cava," www.finesettimana.it/festa.asp?id=28559