Sanctuary of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Minor basilica in Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia, Italy

The Sanctuary of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows is a basilica in Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia comprising two churches and a Passionist monastery. The older church dates from the early twentieth century, while the larger concrete structure from the seventies holds up to six thousand worshippers.

A Franciscan convent stood here from the thirteenth century until Napoleon dissolved the religious orders. The Passionists took over the site in the mid-nineteenth century and developed it into a pilgrimage destination.

The sanctuary is named after Gabriel dell'Addolorata, a Passionist student who died here in 1862 at twenty-four. His remains, placed since 1914 in an urn showing him reclining awake and praying, were moved from the old church to the crypt of the new one, blessed by John Paul II in 1985. Each March thousands of students from Abruzzo and Marche come to have their pens blessed before their school-leaving exams.

The complex sits at the foot of the Gran Sasso massif and can be reached by mountain road from Teramo or L'Aquila. The modern church is wheelchair accessible and offers ample space even on crowded days such as religious holidays or pilgrimage dates.

The pipe organ came from a 1961 instrument by the German firm Späth (Opus 737), bought second-hand and shipped to a workshop in Asciano for restoration before installation. Claudio Anselmi Tamburini added three registers, including an Oboe and a Celeste, and rebuilt the console with three 56-note manuals and a 30-note concave-parallel pedal board.