Beata Vergine delle Grazie, Roman Catholic church in Leinì, Italy
Beata Vergine delle Grazie is a sanctuary church in Leinì with a central nave and two side aisles that were once pilgrim lodgings. Its bell tower, finished in 1845, has an onion-shaped spire unlike others in the area. Inside, the vault of the central nave was frescoed in 1880 by Giovanni Lauro and Rodolfo Morgari.
The sanctuary was built from 1630, during the plague epidemic in northern Italy, after the Virgin appeared to Regina, a deaf-mute resident of Leinì, and restored his hearing and speech. The municipality donated the land, and the church opened for worship in 1632. A 1691 document shows it began as a hermitage, and the 1805 French cadastral map lists today's side aisles as lodgings for pilgrims.
This sanctuary is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and reflects the popular devotion of the local community. Visitors can see votive offerings and personal objects left along the walls by people who came seeking help through prayer.
The sanctuary is owned by the municipality of Leinì and run by a committee of five, so opening times depend on them rather than on a parish. The two feast days, 1 June for the apparition and 15 August for the Assumption, bring the statue through the streets in the evening. The former Carmelite monastery next door now houses the Anna Frank primary school.
The wooden statue of the Madonna delle Grazie, donated on 26 March 1894 by Giulia Fanicetti widow Guigo, shows the healed man Regina kneeling beside the Virgin; her name is written on the back of the base. Since 15 August 1930 it has been carried through the streets each Assumption Day.
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