Mary stops the plague at Monte Berico (I)

A rare manuscript, preserved in the Bertoliana Library in Vicenza, Veneto, recounts in great detail the events that took place in this northern Italian city, which was "shaken and decimated" by a very serious plague epidemic between 1426 and 1430.

On March 7, 1426, Vincenza Parisi, aged 70, saw on the hill of Monte Berico a woman who was dressed like a queen in clothes more resplendent than the sun and wrapped in a thousand perfumes. At the sight of so much beauty, her strength failed her and she fell to the ground. The beautiful woman helped her to her feet and said: "I am the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ who died on the Cross for the salvation of men. I would like you to go and tell the people of Vicenza to build a church here in honor of me, if they want to recover their health, otherwise the plague will not stop."

Vincenza asked, "But the people will not believe me. And where will we find, O glorious Mother, the money to accomplish this?" "Insist as you make this request," Our Lady answered, "otherwise they will never be delivered from the plague, and as long as the people do not obey, they will see my Son irritated with them." She continued, "As a proof that my words are true, have them dig here and from the hard bedrock water will flow, and as soon as the construction begins the money will not lack." She then marked the exact spot on the ground, with an olive branch, where the church had to be built, which is where the main altar of the church stands today. "All those who will visit this church with devotion", she added, "on the occasion of my feasts and on the first Sunday of each month will receive as a gift the abundance of God's graces and mercy as well as the blessing of my maternal hand."

When she went to the city, Vincenza shared what had happened but was not believed. Even the bishop, Pietro Emiliani, dismissed her saying that she had lost her mind. (To be continued

Pina Baglioni, from an article published in the magazine 30 days

The quotations are taken from the Codice n°1430, of the Bertoliana library of Vicenza