July 23
Madonna di Altino, Albino, Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy
During a heat wave and drought, on July 23, 1496, Quinto Foglia and his two little boys were walking from their home in Vall'Alta to the wooded slopes of Monte Altino, where they worked making charcoal. Stricken with thirst and afraid for his children, Quinto prayed to the Madonna. She appeared and told him to strike a rock with his staff. When he did, a spring surged forth. The next day, people began building a chapel, completed Sept. 5, 1496. In 1865 a statuary group depicting the apparition was installed in the sanctuary. In thanksgiving for her protection during World War I, the Madonna's statue was solemnly crowned on July 23, 1919. The shrine celebrates its festa with an evening procession on July 22 and solemn mass on July 23, anniversary of the apparition and crowning.
Source: the shrine's website, www.santuarioaltino.it
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