In the mountains of northern Italy, about 14 miles north of Florence, a small shrine had stood for many years. It overlooked the rolling Tuscan countryside from a sharp cliffside, nearly 1,700 feet above sea level. It was a quiet, holy place where locals had long come to pray. The shrine held a tablet depicting the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus, said by some to have been painted by the great artist Giotto in the 1300s.
On July 2, 1490, two young shepherdesses of the Ricovera family made their way up to that shrine with heavy hearts. Their father was gravely ill. In fact, he was so ill he could not rise from his bed. They had come to beg the Blessed Mother for his healing. They stood before the image, imploring her with all the urgency and faith that only desperate daughters can muster.
Then they heard a sound.
When they turned, they found themselves face to face with a beautiful woman seated on a stone, holding a child in her arms. As the shock gave way to wonder, they understood: it was Our Lady herself. She comforted them gently and told them not to be afraid. She had heard their prayers. Then she made two requests: she wanted the girls to bring their father to her at the shrine, and she wanted a church built on that very spot.
The girls hesitated. Their father was far too ill to make such a journey, they told her. He couldn't even leave his bed. But Mary assured them: he had already recovered.
They ran.
And when they burst through the door of their home, they found their father completely well! The three Ricoveras returned together to the shrine, where Our Lady still sat upon her stone. She repeated her desire: a church must be built here. The family began to share what had happened, the miraculous healing and the apparition and Mary's request, but they were met with doubt and even ridicule. It seemed, for a time, that nothing would come of it.
Then came the feast of the Assumption.
On August 15th of that same year, as villagers gathered at the shrine to pray, Our Lady appeared again, this time to the entire crowd! She made clear that she was displeased. The church had not been built. She wanted it done.
The people believed, but they faced a practical problem: the ground where Mary had appeared was far too steep to build on safely. They chose a site several hundred feet away and laid the foundation there. But when the masons returned the next morning, they found it demolished. They tried again. Demolished again. This happened several times, until, finally, they understood.
There was only one place the church was meant to stand.
They built it on the spot Our Lady had chosen, on the very stone where she had appeared, and there it remains to this day: the beloved shrine of Our Mother of the Stone.
***Our Lady of Sasopoli, remind us to bring our prayers to you, that you may lay them at the feet of your Son. Amen.***
