How Mary recovered her church in Rostov

In Rostov-on-Don, Russia, shortly before WWII, Saint Seraphim Church, located on Gailovskala Street, was decommissioned and turned into a cinema. Inside the church on the right-hand side, a magnificent fresco depicting the Virgin was still visible.

When the church became a cinema, this fresco was covered with a thick layer of lime, but something quite incredible happened. Each time the lights were turned off in the "theater," the icon became visible and shone with such a strong light that the screen dimmed.

Alerted about this strange occurrence, a municipal commission came several times to inspect the premises. At each visit, this committee saw the phenomenon. It was ruled that the layer of lime was not thick enough, but, despite adding new layers, the icon was still bright, attracting all the attention of the public. The "superstitious population" of the city talked about the miracle in the cinema. Eventually, the cinema was shut down.

During the war, when the Germans occupied the city of Rostov, the church was reopened – and is still open today. The Soviet authorities felt that it was better for people to see a miraculous painting in a church than to give "ignorant minds" an opportunity to speak about a miracle.

In "The New Russian Martyrs" (Les nouveaux martyrs russes) by M. Polsky.

Story published in The Collection of Marian Stories, issue #10, by Brother Albert Pfleger, Marist