Feast of the Miracle of the Madonna del Sangue

A feast born from a miracle

The Feast of the Miracle of the Madonna del Sangue is the most deeply felt religious event in Re, a small town in the Vigezzo Valley in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piedmont. The anniversary commemorates the miraculous event of April 29, 1494: according to tradition, a group of young people were playing piodella in front of the church, an ancient village game involving throwing a flat stone at a wooden cylinder. One of them, frustrated by the game, threw the stone at the fresco of the Madonna of the Milk on the church facade, striking her forehead. The next morning, the fresco began to bleed, and the miracle continued for about twenty days, until May 18.

The Sanctuary and its history

The event is documented by two ancient parchments, the first from 1494 signed by the podestà Daniele Crespi and four notaries, and the second from 1500. Popular devotion quickly grew around the miraculous fresco: in 1627, the Bishop of Novara, Carlo Bascapè, inaugurated the first sanctuary. The grand Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Blood that we admire today combines the 17th-century building with an imposing structure built between 1922 and 1958 and consecrated on August 5, 1958. Inside, the high altar houses and protects the original fresco of the Madonna.

The days of the feast

Celebrations are concentrated between late April and early May. The heart of the feast is the Mass of the Miracle, celebrated on April 29 at 3:00 PM, the time when the miracle is said to have occurred. In the following days, there are Masses for the faithful, the exhibition of relics, the recitation of the Rosary, and the solemn procession around the Basilica, accompanied by local choirs.

A cross-border pilgrimage

The Sanctuary of Re, entrusted to the Oblate Missionaries of Mary of the Diocese of Novara, has been a pilgrimage destination for centuries. Its location, just a few kilometers from the Swiss border, makes it a spiritual landmark not only for the Ossola valleys and the Verbano area but also for the faithful from the Canton of Ticino, who attend in large numbers. The feast is therefore an opportunity for cross-border communities to meet, set within the alpine scenery of the Vigezzo Valley, the famous "valley of painters".

• Where: Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Blood, Via Locarno 4, Re (VB)
• When: Between late April and early May
• Origin: The miracle of April 29, 1494