The Lourdes of Corsica

The Shrine of Our Lady of the Graces, situated in a cove of Lavasina not far from Bastia, in the French island of Corsica, has sometimes been called the Lourdes of Corsica. The story begins in the 16th century: a family of sailors, called Danese, was trading wine between Rome and Corsica. A client from Rome, temporarily insolvent and owing money to the Danese family, offered to pay his debt by sending a painting of the Virgin Mary.

In the packaging containing the painting, inexplicably, the Daneses found the exact sum, in cash, of the money they were owed!

They then decided to use this miraculous sum to build a small chapel dedicated to the Virgin, in which the painting was installed—in the foreground of the painting is the Virgin on her knees, giving a kiss to the Child and covering him with her veil—in the background are her cousin Elizabeth, John the Baptist as a child, and Saint Joseph.

The first famous miracle of Our Lady of Lavasina took place in 1675: a nun from Bonifacio, Sister Marie Agnes, 40 years-old at the time, had been paralyzed in both legs for years, when she decided to come on pilgrimage to Our Lady of Graces in Lavasina. She was transported there, and healed, to the great surprise of all.

The shrine’s feast day in on September 8th. 

The Marie de Nazareth team