Our Lady "Rosa Mystica" of Montichiari

Summary:

In 1947, the Virgin Mary appeared several times to Pierina Gilli, a resident of Montichiari in Lombardy (diocese of Brescia). Born on August 3, 1911, into a poor farming family with loving parents, Pierina was the eldest of nine children.

From an early age, Pierina's daily life was full of hardship. Her father died on his return from the war in 1918. At the same time, she was sexually harassed by one of her mother's relatives, who threatened to kill her if she ever talked to anyone about it. Pierina inexplicably managed to overcome this trauma, as all those who met her (doctors, teachers, priests, etc.) duly noted. She tried to enter a convent several times, but her poor health prevented this wish to happen.

After a brief period at school, Pierina's desire to help others, and her deep-rooted faith led her to serve at the civil hospital in Desenzano, run by the Handmaids of Charity. There she was happy and fulfilled, and led a deep spiritual life. On April 14, 1944, she was accepted as a postulant with the Handmaids of Charity and was assigned to a ward in the children's hospital in Brescia.

It was during this period that her life changed. On December 1, 1944, she contracted meningitis. The prognosis was grim: she wasn't expected to live long. However nothing turned out as the doctors had predicted. On December 17, 1944, the foundress of the Handmaids of Charity, Mother Mary Crucified of Rosa, appeared to Pierina and assured her that God would cure her: the next day, Pierina got up as usual and went about her day. All her vital signs were excellent, despite the fact that no treatment had managed to cure her or make her better. Like so many mystics, Pierina's life was from then on a succession of serious illnesses followed by unexplained cures.

At the end of April 1946, she returned to work as a nurse to the hospital in Montichiari. But the following November, an intestinal obstruction requiring urgent surgery once again brought her to the brink of death. It was in this context that, on the night of November 23-24, the foundress of the Handmaids of Charity appeared to her again. This time, she asked Pierina to look in a corner of her room. At that moment, Pierina was perfectly awake and not subject to any sensory disturbance. She was fully aware of what she was experiencing: "I saw a beautiful Lady, almost transparent. She was dressed in purple, and a white veil was covering her from head to toe; she had her arms open and I could see three swords piercing her heart." The foundress said, "Here is the Madonna".

The apparition asked her to offer prayers and sacrifices for consecrated souls: for religious souls who betray their vocation; to repair for the mortal sin of these souls; and to repair for the betrayal of Priests who make themselves unworthy of the sacred ministry. 

"She particularly recommended the sanctification of priests. If they are holy, many souls will be sanctified." Finally, inviting people to prayer and penance, the Virgin asked to be invoked under the name of "Mystical Rose"("Rosa Mystica").

On June 1, 1947, the Virgin appeared to her a second time. Three roses of three different colors were placed on her chest: one white, one red, and one yellow. Pierina asked her about the meaning of these flowers: the white rose represents the spirit of prayer; the red rose, the spirit of sacrifice; and the yellow rose, with golden reflections, the spirit of penance.

The apparitions continued. On July 13, 1947, Our Lady revealed her identity:"I am the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all. The Lord has sent me to promote a more effective Marian piety in religious institutes and congregations [...] and among priests. To all those who honour my protection, I promise a renewal of vocations, a decrease of apostasy and a great desire for holiness. Let the 13th of each month be a day of prayer dedicated to me. I will bring down on this day an abundance of graces and vocations."

On November 22, 1947, Our Lady announced her next apparition would take place in the Montichiari Cathedral. Hearing this, several thousand people gathered in the cathedral on the announced date.

During the sixth apparition, on December 7, 1947, in the full cathedral of Montichiari, the Virgin appeared in a white cloak held on the right by a boy and on the left by a little girl, both also dressed in white. She announced: "Tomorrow, I will show my Immaculate Heart, so little known to men... At Fatima, I asked for the consecration to my Immaculate Heart. Here in Montichiari, I hope that the already recommended Rosa Mystica devotion, united to the veneration of my Immaculate Heart, will be deepened [...], so that consecrated souls may obtain greater graces from my maternal Heart." Pierina asked: "Who are the two children beside you?" She replied: "Jacinta and Francisco [two of the three visionaries of Fatima]. They will now be your companions in all your tribulations. They too suffered much, even though they were much younger than you. This is what I wish for you: the simplicity and goodness that these children had."

The next day (the date on which Mary also appeared at Île-Bouchard, in France), the Virgin Mary, appearing "on a great white staircase adorned on both sides with white, red and gold roses", smiled and said: "I am the Immaculate Conception". Descending the steps, she added: "I am Mary of Grace [...], Mother of my divine Son Jesus Christ [...] Here in Montichiari, I wish to be called Rosa Mystica. I wish that every year on December 8, at midday, the faithful observe the hour of grace for the whole world. Through this special time of prayer, many graces will be obtained [...]. Please let Pope Pius XII know, as soon as possible, that it is my wish that this hour of grace be known and spread throughout the world. If anyone is unable to visit his church, yet will pray at noon at home, he will also receive graces through me. Whoever prays on these tiles and weeps tears of penance, will find a secure heavenly ladder and receive protection and grace through my motherly heart."

At this point, the Mother of God showed Pierina her Heart, saying: "Look at this Heart, which loves man so much, while the majority of people insult it! When the good and the sinners unite in prayer, they will obtain mercy and peace from this Heart."

On that day, three extraordinary healings took place. The first concerned a five-year-old child suffering from poliomyelitis who, until then, had never been able to walk: without anyone's help, the child was suddenly able to move around without crutches or equipment. The disease left no long-term effects.

The second was the full recovery of a twenty-six year old girl suffering from tuberculosis who was no longer able to speak and whose case was hopeless.

The third took place a few hundred metres from where Rosa Mystica was appearing: the instantaneous, complete and lasting healing of a serious cerebral illness and chronic incontinence in a thirty-six year old person.

Brescia Bishop Giacinto Tredici began discreetly investigating the apparitions. In May 1949, faced with the influx of faithful to Montichiari, he asked Pierina to stop appearing in public and to retire temporarily to a convent of Franciscan nuns in Giglio di Brescia, as a simple servant. The visionary's requested exile lasted 19 years, during which time she remained humble and obedient to the bishop and the priests.

The local clergy gradually took charge of the fledgling pilgrimage. In the next months, the spiritual fruits could be seen in large numbers: a return to religious practice, recitation of the rosary, conversions, healings, vocations... The place was never empty. Pierina returned to her house, and public order was in no way disturbed.

On April 17, 1966, Pierina went to pray at Fontanelle, a place 3 kilometers away from Montichiari, where a spring was flowing. The Virgin appeared and said to her: "My divine Son, who is all Love, has sent me to make this spring miraculous, as a sign of purification and penance. Let all the sick [...] ask forgiveness of my Son with a kiss of love, before quenching their thirst at this spring". On May 13, the Virgin asked that the spring be called "spring of grace" and that a pool be built to welcome "all her children", especially the sick.

The bishop of Brescia was quickly informed. He wondered why the apparitions, thought to be over for good, had resumed. As a precaution, he ordered Pierina to maintain absolute silence. From then on, she went alone to the grotto and the spring, or accompanied only by a friend. Once calm and serenity had returned, the bishop authorised pilgrims to come to the Fontanelle grotto for times of prayer, transformed the place into a Marian center and authorised the messages transmitted to Pierina since 1947 to be published.

The reputation of Fontanelle di Montichiari soon spread beyond Italy's borders. Since 1949, the bishop of Fuzhou (China), Mons. Zheng, has promoted the messages that were his spiritual comfort during his eighteen years of forced labor in his country. There is now a Rosa Mystica shrine in Fujian, China.

Since 1990, the Rosa Mystica of Fontanelle association, under the supervision of the ecclesiastical authorities, has had the mission of supporting and spreading the Rosa Mystica Marian devotion which started in Montichiari, and has developed spontaneously in some twenty countries around the world.

The events that occurred during the life of Pierina (d. 2011) and the messages she received during the apparitions, were examined by the Congregation for the Doctrineof the Faith. In 2013, Brescia Bishop Luciano Monari launched a systematic investigation into the events at Montichiari-Fontanelle. All the archives covering the years 1947 to 1949 were re-examined by the members of a special commission.This first stage was completed in the final weeks of 2016, with contributions from theologians, psychologists and doctors. Their conclusions were unanimous: Pierina was a woman of sound mind and body, in no way prone to fabrication or delusion.

Since2018, a theological and doctrinal analysis of all the messages recorded in the visionary's diary has been underway. In fact, the first rigorous study in this area focused only on the apparitions that occurred between 1947 and 1960, without taking into account the subsequent Fontanelle apparitions. This study has already established the full conformity of these messages with the Catholic faith, as well as their spiritual and moral exemplarity.

Beyond reasons to believe:

Pierina's inner disposition and moral virtues clearly prove that she told the truth. Inspired by God and obedient to the Church, charitable towards everyone, she led a humble and hidden existence until her death.

Going further:

The official shrine website in English 

More information:

• A.M. Weigl, Maria, Rosa Mystica, Montichiari-Fontanelle, Rome, Propagandia Maria, s.d., 1976.
• Mary Page website 
• A. L. Iglesias, "Las Apariciones de Maria en la historia (1830-1986)", in Las Apariciones marianas en la vida de la Iglesia, Salamanca, Estudios marianos, 1987, vol. 52, p. 339.