Feast of the Apparition of Our Lady of the Fields

A cult over four centuries old

The Feast of the Apparition of Our Lady of the Fields celebrates in Stezzano, in the province of Bergamo, the anniversary of the events of 1586. According to tradition, on July 12 of that year, two very young peasant girls from the town, Bartolomea Bucarelli and Dorotea Battistoni, aged ten and eleven, saw a Woman in dark clothes holding a book in her left hand and pointing to the sky with her right. From that moment, the devotion that led to the construction, and over the centuries to the expansion, of the current Sanctuary was born.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Prayer

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Fields, also known as Our Lady of Prayer, is the heart of the feast. A place of great popular devotion, it has also linked its name to Pope John XXIII, originally from the Bergamasca area, among its devotees. The Feast of the Apparition is the occasion when this bond of faith between the Sanctuary and the people is renewed with greater intensity.

The novena and the procession

The days preceding July 12 are dedicated to the novena of prayer, with Eucharistic celebrations, adoration, and recitation of the Rosary. The most anticipated moment, however, is the vigil procession: the community gathers in the parish church and walks to the Sanctuary, on a journey described as the most intense and deeply felt event of the entire year. On July 12, the solemn feast of the Apparition is celebrated.

Faith and identity in Stezzano

More than a simple religious commemoration, the feast is part of the identity of Stezzano and a piece of Lombardy Region with a strong Marian tradition. For the faithful and for those who want to get to know the popular spirituality of Bergamo up close, it is a highly evocative event.