Our Lady of Oropa

The traditions of Mary’s coronation

With the 1954 Encyclical Ad Coeli Reginam, Pius XII instituted for the first time the Feast of Mary Queen of the Universe, fixing it on 31 May. It is not a new truth proposed to the Christian people - explains the Holy Pontiff - because the foundation and the reasons for the royal dignity of Mary, are already found in the ancient documents of the church and in the books of the sacred liturgy.

The first inventor in solemnly crowning the images of the Madonna was the Capuchin friar Girolamo Paulucci de Calboli da Forlì, who lived between 500 and 600. The ceremony also had a penitential aspect in how much the crown was often created by gold and precious stones of which the faithful were stripped in sign of renunciation to the vanity.

An important tradition that was collected by the Capuchins and, then, in particular by Alessandro Sforza Pallavicino, Count of Borgonovo.

It was then a woman, Maria Desideri, who in the 1930s began in Rome the movement Pro regalitatae Mariae to collect petitions from all over the world in favor of this feast. This path led Pius XII to institute the liturgical feast.

Pope Pacelli will deliver a strong speech in honor of Mary Queen before proceeding to a touching prayer and the Coronation of the Venerated Image of Mary "Salus populi Romani".

The coronations at the Sanctuary of Oropa

The coronations of the Sacred Statue of Oropa mark and increase the worship of Mary in her Sanctuary:

1. The first took place in the year 1620 by Bishop Mons. Goria with the participation of many faithful gathered from all over.
   
   
2. The second, one hundred years later, took place in 1720 by the Bishop Mons. Gattinara Bishop of Alexandria with the participation of many people. In the act of the coronation the Madonna of Oropa worked a Marian miracle, making the language born again to Giovanni Battista Perrone who had been cut off by the Turks. Find out more click here.
   
   
3. The third, still a hundred years later, took place in 1820 by Cardinal Morozzo, Bishop of Novara assisted by three other bishops. The present crowd was calculated in hundred thousand people.
   
   
4. The fourth, also in the centenary year, took place in 1920 by the pontifical delegate, Cardinal Teodoro Valfrè di bonzo, surrounded by all the Piedmontese Bishops, Cardinal Richelmy, San Giovanni Bosco. A crowd of 150,000 was estimated. In 1884 the first stone of the new Monumental Basilica was laid, which magnifies the art and splendour of this Sanctuary.
   
   
5. The fifth occurred not as usual a hundred years later, but as a result of the pandemic was celebrated in the year 2021. The memorable event was celebrated with a pontifical mass by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as "papal legate" in the presence of a small number of about 1500 faithful in the church and in the open spaces of the Sacred Mount of Oropa.
   
   

Papal legate

The Holy Father has appointed His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as Papal Legate for the celebrations of the fifth centenary Coronation of the sacred effigy of Our Lady of Oropa.

The "Legate of the Roman Pontiff" is an envoy of the Pope, his permanent representative to the local Churches or to state authorities or to ecclesiastical institutions.
It is not the first time that the Pope sent a Papal Legate for the coronation of Our Lady of Oropa: in 1920 it was Monsignor Teodoro Valfré of the Counts of Bonzo who placed the golden crown on the head of the Black Virgin.

Moreover, by concession of the Holy Father, by Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary he extended the indulgences related to the Marian Year Oropense until 7 October 2021, feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

homily of Cardinal

Some excerpts from the homily:

"The traditional solemn renewal every 100 years of the coronation of the statue of Our Lady of Oropa is a highly significant religious act, which recalls and makes us relive the coronation on August 30, 1620, who wanted to express the deep gratitude of the people of Biella for the favors received by the Holy Virgin, including protection from the plague. In the years immediately preceding, in fulfillment of the vow of the people of Biella to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the occasion of the plague of 1599, impressive works were made to make this "House of the Madonna" grandiose and beautiful, with the construction of the ancient Basilica...

The coronation, which we renew today, is meant to be an expression of our filial and sincere affection for the Mother of God and our Mother, placing ourselves with new and intense trust in her hands, today as then. It is a gesture that means choosing the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of our heart, as a star that shows us the way; it is a entrusting ourselves to her, invoking her protection...

Four centuries ago, in this majestic sanctuary in the Alps, the intercession of Our Lady was used to implore help and protection in the difficulties of life and against the scourge of the plague. Today, in this troubled historical period, tormented by the Coronavirus and its heavy health and social consequences in the field of work, economy and school for youth, we seek support, courage and refuge in the help of our heavenly Mother to face the current challenges...

No creature has had a closeness and a bond with God as the Virgin Mary had them, who is present in all the decisive moments of salvation history. The Blessed Virgin Mary is at the heart of the mystery of the Incarnation: the Son of God became man by being born of her. We received him from her. God, in his mysterious designs, chose this path so that Christ would come to us as a true man, and we cannot find a better way to reach Him, than by passing through Our Lady...

In the florets of Saint Francis we read of a dream, in which we speak of the vision of two stairs that from the earth went up to the sky. The first was red and at the top there was Jesus inviting the friars to go up, but the friars, after some attempts, fell back to the ground and judged the undertaking superior to their own strength. Saint Francis then invited them to set out for the second staircase, which was white and on top there was the Madonna who with affectionate gestures encouraged them to climb. This staircase proved easier for the friars, who easily reached the top, where Our Lady welcomed them with a big hug and then led them to Jesus. I don’t know if it is a simple dream or a vision. The idea it expresses is theologically exact: Mary is the one who helps us to go to Jesus. The mission of the Virgin Mary is to offer Christ to humanity and to lead every man and every woman to God...

Pope Paul VI in the Apostolic Exhortation Marialis cultus affirms that the ultimate purpose of the worship of the Blessed Virgin "is to glorify God and to commit Christians to a life wholly in conformity with the divine will" (n.39). On this day when we solemnly renew the coronation of Our Lady of this Shrine, we would like to ask the Virgin Mary to help us to start anew from Christ, witnessing faithfully in daily life to the Christian ideals.

Above all, we want to learn faith in God from her. Having faith as a companion on the path of life is an incomparable gift, because it makes us understand that God is the Father who loves us and that, when we fall, he forgives us because he loves us.

Our Lady is happy to see that many of her children come to this Shrine of Oropa also to confess and thus receive the embrace of forgiveness from Jesus Christ in the sacrament of forgiveness and reconciliation. We also ask Our Lady, who has put her whole life in the hands of God, to help us walk the paths of the Gospel, to discover God’s will towards us and to find in it our peace. May she, Mother of mercy, obtain for us from God light and strength to change the things that we can change, and help us to accept with serenity the things that we cannot change.

May Our Lady enlighten us so that we do not lack the wisdom to know which are the ones and which are the others. May he guide and sustain us always with his intercession before God and with his comfort. "Following Mary - Saint Bernard assures us - you will never take wrong paths; praying her you will never fall into despair; with her as a guide, you will not make mistakes; with her as a friend you will reach your goal... In every circumstance, look to Mary; in every difficulty, invoke Mary".

Homily II, Super Missam est. Card. Giovanni Battista Re.

Coronation prayer

The gesture that we now make of crowning Our Lady is full of meaning: it inserts us into a tradition that has roots in 1620 and brings us back in our thoughts to the countless people who have gone up to this Marian Shrine to seek light down the centuries, support and comfort; and that in this house of Our Lady they lived the fortifying experience of a profound encounter with God. Without numbers are the people who have made this ascent along the centuries to put in the hands of Our Lady their problems and their worries, seeking refuge under her protection.

Many have come here with a sad heart for events, situations and worries and here their soul has returned serenely praying and singing the praises of Our Lady, confident in the power of intercession of the Mother of God and our Mother.

... Let us now entrust to Our Lady what each one has in his or her heart, and let us address our invocations to her, starting from the beginning of a Marian prayer of the Christians of the end of the third century, which came to us in Greek on Egyptian papyrus. "Under your protection we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God". In today’s situation we turn to You, Mother of God and our Mother, and seek help, support and refuge under Your protection. O Virgin Mary, turn to us your merciful eyes and implore God, the Father of mercy, his necessary help to overcome this difficult and painful moment, so that life may peacefully resume its normal course in brotherhood and solidarity.

O Comforter of the afflicted, heal the sufferings of the families who lost loved ones in the tragedy of the pandemic and grant them the strength to resume living with serenity, courage and hope. Teach us, Mary, to be supportive and generous with young people who cannot find employment, with those who have lost their jobs, with those who suffer loneliness and poverty. Queen of the family, keep firmly the unity of our families, so threatened from all sides in this society that forgets God and makes them centers of serenity and loving harmony, overcoming difficulties and contrasts in mutual understanding and forgiveness.

Intercede with God so that our families may be rooted in the faith, rich in love and walk on the paths of the Gospel in fidelity to God. He also implores for them the great gift of numerous vocations to the priesthood or to the consecrated life that our world so badly needs.

Watch with motherly goodness also over families in crisis and those divided. Help us to know how to look up to find the light that illuminates the paths of our life. Mother of God and our Mother, protect the Pope, the Church, the Bishops, the Priests, the Men and Women Religious, believers in Christ and all of humanity. May you protect and accompany, the Blessed Virgin, the diocesan community of Biella, Piedmont, Italy and the whole of humanity, so that the commitment to the common good may grow and efforts so that love and peace may reign in hearts and in society.

Strengthen Christian coherence and sustain us in the synodal journey planned by the Italian Church. 3 You who have visited Elizabeth, bringing her joy and help, revive in our hearts the joy of being Christians, walk with us and guide our steps towards Jesus. We entrust ourselves to you, that shines on our journey as a sign of consolation and sure hope, either clement, or pious, or sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.

Card. Giovanni Battista Re