Our Lady of Pompeii
Join us in prayer at Noon today...
A lawyer named Bartolo Longo, a Satanic priest who ridiculed Christianity, experienced a miraculous conversion through the influence of a saintly Dominican priest. Repenting of his ways, taking the Blessed Virgin as his patron, and praying her Rosary as his great spiritual weapon, he devoted himself to penance and making reparation for the damage he'd caused in his former life. He moved his law practice to Pompei -- the city, spelled in English as "Pompeii", which was buried by Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. While there, he decided that the best thing he could do was to spread the practice of praying the Rosary, and to that end, he started a Confraternity of the Rosary, spread around Rosary pamphlets, and rallied locals to help him restore an old, dilapidated chapel in the area.
He looked for ways to beautify the building, and a nun in Naples offered him a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary with St. Dominic and St. Rose. He found the painting to be rather hideous, later writing,
Alas! No sooner did my eyes fall on it than my heart stopped. Not only was the picture old and wormeaten, but the face of the Madonna, instead of being that of a Virgin all sweetness, holiness and grace, seemed rather that of some course, rough woman of the people.
— Who ever painted that picture? Mercy on us! — I could not prevent myself from exclaiming, with a tone of voice half way between fright and surprise. I felt in my heart that the poor Pompeians would find great difficulty in experiencing any sort of devotional influence and feeling any kind of love for the Rosary with such a picture before them.
To the deformity and unpleasantness of the face must be added the fact that a full palm of canvass was missing directly above the head. The mantle was cracked, and time and wormeaten, and in many places the colors had fallen off altogether because of the cracks. Nothing can be said of the hideousness of the other figures. Saint Dominic, on the right, more than a saint, looked like a street idiot; to the left was a Saint Rosa, with a fat, rough, vulgar face, who looked exactly like a country-girl crowned with roses.5
But he didn't want to offend the nun, and he had nothing else, so he took the painting, fixing it so it looked a little nicer and so that St. Rose became St. Catherine of Siena. The image was placed in the restored chapel in 1875.
And miracles began to happen -- the first being the cure of a young girl who suffered from a severe case of epilepsy. Hundreds of miracles followed! Word spread, and pilgrims came, so plans for a larger church were put into action, with 300 locals pledging a penny a month to build it. The cornerstone for new church was laid on May 8, 1876, the church was consecrated in 1891, and it was enlarged and raised to the level of a basilica in 1939. The miraculous image was officially coronated by Pope Paul VI in 1965.
After the death of Bartolo Longo -- the "Apostle of the Rosary" -- he was declared a "servant of God" and later beatified. And ever since the miracles that happen at Pompei began, many, especially Italians, invoke Our Lady as "the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii" or simply as "Our Lady of Pompeii." Padre Pio had a great devotion to Our Lady of Pompeii, making many pilgrimages to her shrine. On his deathbed, he asked that a rose given to him by a devotee be taken to the basilica and offered to Our Lady by placing it in front of her miraculous image. It remains there, incorrupt, to this day.
Note that a practice related to Our Lady of Pompeii is the praying of the "Supplica" -- a Solemn Petition of Prayer to Our Lady of Pompeii -- at noon on May 8 (the date the cornerstone of the Basilica at Pompeii was put down) and at noon on the first Sunday of October (the original date of the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary). This prayer was written by Bartolo Longo, and Pope Leo XIII granted an indulgence to all who prayed it on the above dates.
The “Supplica” – Solemn Petition Prayer to Our Lady of Pompeii
to be recited at Noon on the 8th of May
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I. O august Queen of victories, Virgin who reignest in paradise, whose mighty name causes Heaven to rejoice and hell to tremble, O glorious Queen of the most holy Rosary, we, thy happy children chosen by thy goodness in this century to build thee a temple at Pompeii, kneeling at thy feet on this solemn day to commemorate thy latest triumphs on the spot where idols and demons were formerly worshipped, we pour out with tears the feelings of our hearts and with a filial confidence lay before thee our miseries.
From that throne of mercy where thou sittest as Queen, O Mary, turn down thy pitiful eyes on us, on our families, on Italy, on Europe, and the whole Church; take into pity the afflictions which overwhelm us and the cares which embitter our life. Thou seest, O Mother, how many dangers of soul and body, how many calamities and afflictions press upon us.
O Mother, keep back the arm of justice of thy indignant Son, and conquer by thy mercy the hearts of sinners, since they are our brethren and thy children, redeemed through the blood of our sweet Jesus and through the wounds of thy most tender heart pierced with the sword. Show thyself to all in this day, as thou art, the Queen of peace and mercy.
Hail, Queen, Mother of mercy, vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin. Give me strength against thy enemies.
Pray for us, Queen of the most holy Rosary, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death. Amen.
II. It is but too true that we, although thy children, are the first who crucify Jesus in our hearts and wound anew thy heart by our sins. We confess it, we deserve the severest chastisements; yet remember how thou didst receive, on the top of Golgotha, the last drops of that Divine blood, and the testament of our dying Redeemer. And this testament of a God, sealed with the blood of a Man-God, appointed thee our Mother, the Mother of sinners. Thus, as our Mother, thou art our Advocate and our Hope. To thee, amidst sighs, do we lift up our hands, crying for mercy!
Have pity, good mother, have pity on us, on our souls, on our families, on our relations, on our friends, on our departed brethren, above all, on our enemies, and on so many who claim the name of Christians, yet wound the loving heart of thy Son. Pity, O Mother, we now implore thee for pity on the erring nations, on all Europe, on the whole world, that they may repair repentant to thy heart. Be merciful to all, O Mother of mercy.
Hail, Queen, Mother of mercy, vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin. Give me strength against thy enemies. Pray for us, Queen of the most holy Rosary, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death. Amen.
III. What does it cost thee, O Mary, to hear us? What does it cost thee to save us? Did not Jesus entrust to thy hands all the treasures of His graces and mercies? Thou sittest as Queen at the right hand of thy Son, crowned with immortal glory, above all the choirs of angels. Thou extendest thy dominion as far as the heavens expand, the earth and all the creatures that people it are subject to thee. Thy power even reaches hell; and thou alone, O Mary, canst rescue us from the devil’s grasp. Thou art almighty by grace, and therefore thou canst save us. Now if you sayest thou wilIest not help us because we are ungrateful children and unworthy of thy protection, tell us at least to whom shall we have recourse in order to be released from so many evils? Oh! No, thy maternal heart will never bear to see the ruin of thy children. The Divine Child we behold on thy knees, the mystical crown we admire in thy hand, both inspire us with hope that we will be heard. And full of confidence in thee, we throw ourselves at thy feet, we trust ourselves as feeble children into the arms of the tenderest amongst mothers and today, this very day, we expect from thee the graces we are longing for.
Hail, Queen, Mother of mercy, vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin. Give me strength against thy enemies. Pray for us, Queen of the most holy Rosary, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death. Amen.
Let us ask Mary for her blessing.
We now ask of thee, O Queen, a last favour which thou canst not refuse on this solemn day. Grant to all of us thy constant love and in a special manner thy maternal blessing. No, we will not leave thy feet today nor cease clasping thy knees till thou hast blessed us. Bless now, O Mary, the sovereign Pontiff: to the first laurels of thy crown, to the ancient trophies of the Rosary, whence thou art called Queen of victories, add also this one, O Mother, grant triumph to religion and peace to mankind. Bless our bishop, the priests and particularly those who promote the honour of thy Sanctuary; bless finally all those who are associated to thy new temple of Pompeii and who practice and spread devotion to thy most holy rosary.
O blessed rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love, which connects us with the angels, tower of safety against the assaults of hell, sure harbour in the universal shipwreck, never more shall we part with thee; thou shall be our comfort in the hour of agony: to thee the last kiss of our life; and the last word of our dying lips shall be thy sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary of Valle di Pompei. Mother dear, only refuge of sinners, supreme comforter of the afflicted, blessed be thy name, now and forever, on earth and in heaven. Amen.
Hail; Queen, Mother of mercy, vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin. Give me strength against thy enemies.
Pray for us, Queen of the most holy Rosary, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death. Amen.1
Also stemming from devotion to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii is the 54-day Rosary Novena. This novena began in 1884, when a very seriously ill young girl named Fortuna Agrelli had a vision of Our Lady of Pompeii and was told to pray three novenas of the prayers of the Rosary (i.e., to pray the entire Rosary once each day for 27 days), and then to pray three more novenas of the prayers of the Rosary in the spirit of thanksgiving. Fortuna did this and was cured. (Many people pray the 54-Day Rosary Novena starting on the Feast of All Saints and ending such that they pray their last of the 54 Rosaries on Christmas day. But it can be prayed at any time.)3
https://fisheaters.com/supplica.html
https://www.villagepreservation.org/2018/12/03/interior-artwork-of-our-lady-of-pompeii-church/
https://fisheaters.com/feastofthemostholyrosary.html#background