The Madonna dei Fiori of Bra (I)

On the evening of December 29, 1336, in the small town of Bra, (province of Cuneo in the diocese of Turin), a young expecting mother was passing by a votive column consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, on the outskirts of town. Two rough soldiers, from a band of mercenaries, were lying in wait. Egidia Mathis (that was the lady's name), seeing that she was going to be attacked by men who intended to rape her despite her condition, clung on desperately to the image of the Madonna painted on the column, calling for her help. Without warning, a beam of light flashed from the image, blinding the two mercenaries who fled in a panic. Then, the Madonna herself appeared to Egidia and comforted her for several minutes and assured her that the danger was over. Then Our Lady vanished. Due to such feelings of fear and emotion, Egidia gave birth at the foot of the column. With her new-born child wrapped in her shawl, the young mother managed to reach the nearest house. The news of the awful incident spread like wildfire all around town: although it was late, crowds flocked to the place where the attempted attack and the apparition of the Virgin had taken place. There, an extraordinary sight greeted them: the column was surrounded with thick blackthorn bushes which were unexpectedly covered in white flowers despite the harsh late December weather. Since this time, the bushes flower yearly over the same period of days.