June 23
Madonna del Sasso, Bibbiena, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy
On June
23, 1347, Catherine, 7, was waiting for her mother at the base of a
massive rock when she saw a beautiful lady in white who gave some her
some pods, found that evening to be full of blood: an omen of the bubonic
plague of the following year, from which Bibbiena and environs were
largely spared. The rock formation where Catherine saw the Madonna became
the core of the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rock. Around
1435, Bicci di Lorenzo frescoed the main altarpiece against its top (left,
from Il Santuario di Santa Maria del
Sasso, santuario.santamariadelsasso.it), miraculously spared by a fire
that destroyed the first building. The present Sanctuary was consecrated in
1507. Under the care of the Dominican Fathers, it celebrates the festa of
the Madonna del Sasso with fireworks on the night of June 22; and on the
apparition anniversary, June 23, solemn mass with the bishop, a concert, and a
communal meal.
Also celebrated this date:
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