23rd May - OUR MOTHER OF MIRACLES OF BRESCIA (ITALY)

 This north Italian shrine in Lombardy originated with a painting of the Blessed Virgin on the outside of a house. During an epidemic of plague that devastated Brescia in 1478, 

    it became the occasion of miracles of healing. The symptoms of the plague began with a severe headache, and then the lymph glands would become swollen. 

    The victim’s body would literally decay before they would suddenly die. The plague began in March of the year and continued until July the next year. 

    200 people died per day in the town, while the population of the city dropped from just under 40,000 to somewhat less than 4,000 during that perilous time. 

    The Church of Our Mother of Miracles in Brescia was built to honor the image of the Blessed Virgin before which so many people were miraculously healed. 

    Construction began in 1488 in thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin for those who survived, but work was not completed until 1500. 

    The image that was once seen on a house near the Church can now be seen in the Church’s apse. The elaborately carved facade of the Church is made of marble, 

    and is treasured as an outstanding example of Renaissance sculpture.




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