Let us entrust ourselves with our hearts to Our Lady of Good Counsel
Today we want to tell you a fascinating story related to Our Lady of Good Counsel, patroness of Albania. In 1467, according to legend, the Augustinian tertiary Petruccia di Ienco, later beatified by Pope Clement XIV in 1735, spent all her assets to restore an old church from 1356 dedicated to the Madonna del Buon Consiglio, which, abandoned, was falling into ruin .
The woman, despite her commitment, did not have sufficient resources to complete the work, and the inhabitants of Genazzano, instead of helping her they began to mock her. She did not get upset and told the villagers not to worry about her because before her death, the Blessed Virgin and Saint Augustine they would complete the work of the church.
The following year, i Turks invaded Albania and they came to besiege the city of Scutari. On that day, a fresco depicting the Madonna with Child it miraculously detached itself from a wall of the basilica of Scutari to escape destruction. Two devoted meni, Giorgi and De Sclavis, they saw the image flying supported by angels. They decided to follow her and thanks to the Madonna, they managed to cross the Adriatic Sea.
The sacred image reaches the church of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio
Il 25 April 1467, during the feast of St. Mark, the image arrived and he placed himself on the church under construction. The news of this miraculous event spread and for this reason pilgrimages began from all over Italy. Thanks to miracles and miraculous healings, many alms were given by the pilgrims and so not only was the church completed but the convent was also built.
Pope Paul II, to verify the veracity of this story, sent two bishops, Gaucerio de Forcalquier and Nicola de Crucibus. It is not known how the inspection went, what is certain is that on 24 July 1467 the two bishops handed over money for possible expenses.
A legendary story still alive states that the 25 April 1467, before a Mass in honor of San Marco, the people of the town witnessed the extraordinary event. He heard one melodious music come from above and when he looked up he saw a bright white cloud. The cloud came down slowly and rested on the wall of a side chapel of the church. Then he began to fade away and remained in his place a miraculous image of the Madonna.
Since then, Our Lady of Good Counsel has been the protagonist of countless healings. After an investigation, it was discovered that theimage of Albania it was precisely that descent into the church of Nostra Signora del Buon Consiglio in Genazzano.