The shrine of Mary's prodigies

A Virgin and Child was venerated in this place in Marija Bistrica, Croatia. When the Turks invaded this region in 1545, the parish priest, wishing to protect her from desecration, hid the statue in the wall of the church choir. But he died before he could tell anyone. His successor did not know about the hiding place, but one day saw a strange light in the choir, dug there and found the statue.

In 1650, the Turks invaded the region again. The parish priest walled up the statue again and left it until 1684, when the next parish priest had a vision of a woman holding a candle and asking him: "Pray with all the people that I may regain my sight". The priest found the statue, people came to pray there and many miracles were granted.

Between 1688 and 1786, 1109 miracles were recorded. The church was enlarged and dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows on July 13, 1731. The city changed its name to "Maria Bistrica".

After a fire in 1880, the church was completely rebuilt. In 1923, it was named a minor basilica, and the bishops declared it a national shrine.

In 1935, a votive pilgrimage drew a very large crowd. The people promised the Virgin to remain faithful to her "as long as our streams will whisper...as long as our meadows will be green...as long as we will smell the scent of the flowers of our homeland".

Attilio GALLI, Madre della Chiesa dei Cinque continenti,

Ed. Segno, Udine, 1997, pp. 67-76.

And also