150 YEARS OF THE NAZARETH SISTERS

In the footsteps of Blessed Frances Siedliska in Rome (30)

Sr. M. Beata Rudzińska, CSFN

Shrine of the Madonna del Miracolo

Alphonse Ratisbonne, whose story I described in the previous post, was received by Pope Gregory XVI in a private audience as early as February 3 (two weeks after his conversion). On June 3, 1842, the Pope formally recognized Alphonsus’ conversion as a true act of God through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This event also contributed to the Holy See’s official recognition of the “Miraculous Medal” – the fruit of Mary Immaculate’s revelations in 1830 to St. Catherine Labouré, a Sister of Charity from a convent in the Rue du Bac in Paris, as well as Pius IX’s 1854 proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Ratisbonne’s conversion reverberated not only in Rome, but also throughout Europe. A special altar with an image of Mary as she appeared to Alphonsus was built in the Church of St. Andrew, which gained a second name – Santuario Madonna del Miracolo (Shrine of Our Lady of the Miracle). The place, also called the Roman Lourdes, became a pilgrimage destination for many people. Among them was a Franciscan seminarian – Maximilian Maria Kolbe, who was preparing for the priesthood in Rome. At the site of Ratisbonne’s conversion, the Knighthood of the Immaculate was born. It was also here, on April 29, 1918, that Maximilian celebrated his Primate Mass. On either side of the apparition chapel today stand two marble busts: on the left of Alphonse Ratisbonne, on the right of St. Maximilian Kolbe.
Among those who came to the Sanctuary there was also Frances Siedliska. She came here when various situations required special divine intervention. In her “Spiritual Diary” under the date July 17, 1886, she wrote:
“In all afflictions (whenever I could) I went to the Basilica of St. Andrew delle Fratte, where there is a miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin. So there I went in and before this image I prayed (…) I have only fear and a feeling to pray and trust. So I hand everything over to the Lord Jesus through His Mother.”
In the Basilica you can also see works by G. Bernini, the artist who accompanied us on the trail of Frances Siedliska. These are originals of two angels, copies of which stand on the bridge leading to the Castle of the Angel. The bridge itself was built in the second century by order of Emperor Hadrian and was meant to connect the west side of the city with the emperor’s newly built mausoleum. For centuries it was also the only road leading from the center of Rome to St. Peter’s Basilica. The history of the mausoleum and the bridge itself is very interesting and long… Here I will only mention that the current names, namely the Castle and the Bridge of the Angel, date back to the 6th century, during the pontificate of Gregory the Great. This pontiff, leading a procession to plead for the end of the pestilence, saw above Hadrian’s building the figure of an Angel hiding a sword in its scabbard, which was interpreted as an answer to prayers
The figures of the 10 angels adorning the bridge since the 17th century were commissioned from Bernini by Pope Clement IX. Only two of them were made by the Master himself, who was already more than 70 years old at the time. The others are the work of his disciples. The Pope considered Bernini’s statues too valuable to put on the bridge, so he replaced them with copies. The originals found a place in the main nave of St. Andrew’s Basilica.
Leaving the Basilica, just a dozen meters away, we see Bernini’s house, with a plaque with a meaningful inscription: Here lived and died Gianlorenzo Bernini, the ruler of art, to whom popes, princes, nations bowed in reverence.

Photos: Sr. Beata CSFN
Busts of A. Ratisbonne and M. Kolbe at the altar of revelation
Plaque on Bernini’s house
Castle and Bridge of the Angels – Sr. Anita Jach CSFN
Bernini’s Angels in the Basilica of St. Andrew – www.voiceofrome.com