That to the Blessed Virgin of Caravaggio, patron saint of the Diocese of Cremona together with Sant’Omobono, is a devotion that goes beyond the boundaries of the sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte: a widespread veneration in many parts of the territory, even crossing diocesan and national borders.
And on May 26, on the anniversary of the Apparition, the parish of San Savino, in the homonymous hamlet of the city of Cremona, will present to the parish community the restored canvas of the Madonna of Caravaggio, exposed for the veneration of the faithful in the first side altar of right of the parish church.
During the 9pm Rosary, the presentation to the faithful will take place, by the parish priest Don Gianluca Gaiardi, who also holds the position for cultural heritage at diocesan level. A second celebratory moment will be the Mass at 8.45pm on Monday 27 May (the day on which the solemnity in the diocese is postponed this year).
A painting, by an anonymous author, which portrays the very moment of the Apparition according to traditional iconography, with Giannetta on her knees and whom Mary places her hand on her head. In the background, among nature, the facade of the parish church of Caravaggio which, in the oldest paintings, was represented in place of the Sanctuary to identify the place of the Apparition.
The work was probably commissioned by the Pallavicini family, as evidenced by the coat of arms on the painting. The canvas, restored by the Marchetti studio of Brescia, thanks to the contribution of the Community Foundation of the Province of Cremona, then returns to the church of San Savino, after the completion of the intervention which began last January.
«Since the 1960s, with the Second Vatican Council, the Blessed Virgin of Caravaggio has been, at the behest of Bishop Danio Bolognini, patroness of our Diocese – explains Don Gianluca Gaiardi –. From that moment on, the cult of the Apparition spread throughout the diocesan territory». «But we must not forget the fact that the Sanctuary has always been managed by the Diocese – he added -. Therefore, speaking about the diffusion of the statue of the Madonna, it is normal that diocesan priests have always felt firsthand this feeling of guardianship and this desire to spread it».
In the city, another painting portraying the Madonna of Caravaggio, once kept in the Cathedral, is currently kept in the diocesan museum: it is The Appearance of the Madonna of S. Maria del Fonte to Caravaggio. Virgin and Saints, by Angelo Innocente Massarotti.
The parish church in viale Concordia, next to the hospital, is also named after the Blessed Virgin of Caravaggio in Cremona.
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