Une Minute avec Marie
Faire connaître et aimer Marie
On the night of May 8-9, 1460, Pietro Morandi, who had been paralyzed for six years, was bedridden in his room in Saronno (Italy, Lombardy), near Milan. Suddenly and unexpectedly, a supernatural light of unknown beauty invaded the room. In the center of the light, the patient saw the features of a woman taking shape...
It was Mary, dressed like a queen, barely two meters from his bed. Overcome with emotion, he dared not open his mouth. The apparition broke the silence: "Pietro, if you wish to be cured, go to the chapel in Via Varesina. There, a new church must be built in my honor."
Drawn from their sleep by his shouts, the neighbors rushed to Pietro's bedside, thinking he was in trouble. He told them about the apparition, which had only lasted a few minutes. Deep down a devout and God-loving man, he knew that he would be cured once he had made that little pilgrimage to the chapel on Via Varesina. The next day, two men took Pietro there. He was accompanied by a few friends.
Everyone was joyful when they arrived. Pietro's face was drawn and his complexion pale.
He began praying in front of the small statue of Our Lady of Miracles. His companions joined him in prayer. After a few minutes, Pietro let out a little cry: he had just felt a mysterious warmth invade his limbs. It was a new sensation that worried him for a few seconds: "What is happening? Am I going to wither away even more?" Then a radiant smile lit up his face: he could move his arms and legs! The people around him were stunned, but all were unanimous: Pietro had entered the building as an invalid, and left on his own, unaided, completely cured.
The local clergy were informed of the facts. The parish priest of Saronno discreetly investigated, then passed on his information to the Archbishop of Milan, Carlo da Forli, who in turn, after meeting Pietro and his friends, issued a positive statement and authorized the construction of a shrine, as requested by the Mother of God. On January 2, 1923, Pope Pius XI elevated the Marian shrine at Saronno to the rank of basilica minor.