Madonna delle Lacrime di Siracusa: Testimonials

Da Paolo Tessione - July 9, 2019

The sworn report, presented to the Archiepiscopal Curia of Syracuse, on the analysis of the tears of the Madonnina of plaster, performed on 1 and 2 September 1953, and the analytical report of the liquid gushed from the eyes of the Madonnina in Via degli Orti 11 in Syracuse, on 17 October 1953 they were filed with the Ecclesiastical Court of Syracuse by Dr. Michele Cassola. And here I like to remember how on August 24, 1966 Dr. Tullio Manca in Camaldoli confided to me: at the time of the Madonnina's tearing he was the treating doctor of Antonietta Giusto. He saw the Madonna tear and to make sure she put her fingers in her eyes, she wet them with tears and instinctively dried herself in the handkerchief, which unfortunately she lost for having given it to a sick woman. It is a testimony but it is good to know that on September 25 the special ecclesiastical court established by archiepiscopal decree of September 22, 1953 began its work for the examination of the fact of the tearing of the image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in via degli Orti. 201 eyewitnesses were cited and listened to under the sanctity of the oath, all of whom attested to the historical reality of the fact of the Tearing of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in via degli Orti. We all know the echo that the prodigious miracle of the Tears of Mary had in every category of people in the city, while the news through the streets of the press and radio also reached distant countries and regions. Via degli Orti became a place of prayer, while endless rows of pilgrims, healthy and sick, flocked from every part between songs and invocations. I was able to follow day by day, I would say hour by hour, true crowds of faithful who came to implore thanks to the feet of the Madonnina. A unanimous feeling of emotion touched everyone's hearts and pushed them decidedly to penance.

In the Parish Church of the Pantheon, very close to the place of tearing, pilgrims came in continuous waves asking to confess everyone. The priests were not enough and the forces no longer held up. The normal life of the Parish was overwhelmed by this new, urgent need: to confess, to communicate the pilgrims who came from everywhere and by any means. Even the Parish of St. Lucia at the Sepulcher was faced with this problem and all the Fathers were committed to confessions, without stopping and at all hours. When in the Audience granted on 6 March 1959 to the Archbishop of Syracuse and to some members of the Committee, the Holy Father John XXIII asked with paternal anxiety: "Is there a spiritual improvement in the people?", I was lucky enough to be able to answer in these terms: "The improvement is there, but it does not manifest itself in the form of religious exaltation, but in a slow and gradual process, in which the work of Grace is clear". And the Holy Father added, warmly satisfied: "This is a good sign." Where did the first organized pilgrimage to go to the foot of the Madonnina in Via degli Orti start? He left the Pantheon.

On the afternoon of Saturday 5 September 1953, at 18,30 pm, the small Enza Moncada, aged 3 and a half years old, lives in Via della Dogana 8. The joy is great. How can we not thank Our Lady for such benevolence towards our Parish? So it was that the following Sunday, September 6, after the Children's Mass, the parish priest with the catechists led as many as 90 children of the Pantheon in Via degli Orti, with a humble cross on their head, the same one that the Parish has now given to Shrine as a historical reminder of the 4st Pilgrimage of the world at the foot of the Madonnina. A nice photo of the magazine «Epoca» offers us clear documentation. Enza Moncada, at the age of one year, had been suffering from childhood paralysis. The treatments carried out had not given any result. She was brought, by dint of hardship, to the feet of the Madonnina. After a few minutes the people shouted out loud: «Long live Maria! Miracle!". The girl with her hand, already inert, greeted "hello" to the Madonnina. Again and again he greets the crowd, quivering with emotion. I was immediately taken to the Parish Office of the Pantheon. He articulated his hand with eyes full of amazement and turned and turned his arm in amazement. Our Parish made the vow to offer dear Madonnina 28 large candles every year, by going on pilgrimage to her feet. The vote was punctually fulfilled on August XNUMX of each year (opening of the Celebrations) uninterruptedly with an imposing demonstration of popular faith, as long as we were allowed by emerging situations.

On 7th September in via degli Orti, Mrs. Anna Vassallo Gaudioso comes to meet me. We had known each other very well since 1936, the year in which, as a new priest, I was appointed Vicar Cooperator at the Mother Church of Francofonte. I remember her pale and tired, with her face streaked with tears, at the foot of the Madonnina still exhibited at Casa Lucca. Confused and moved, her husband Dr. Salvatore Vassallo accompanied her, who briefly explained to me the painful health of Mrs. Anna. He had accompanied her to Syracuse, from the Madonnina, to make her happy ... "Father - Mrs. Anna said to me, always prostrate kneeling on the ground in front of the Image, flowered as if by magic - not for me I ask that Our Lady grant me healing, but for my husband. You too pray for me ». He asked me for a piece of cotton wool with the tears of the Madonna. I didn't have any; I promised her to give him a piece that had truly touched the prodigious Image. He returned on the afternoon of day 8 to receive the promised cotton from me. I reassured her that I had already prepared it for her in a plastic box at my house. He could go. Thus came the next day 9 in the parsonage and as I was outside it was my mother who gave her the desired cotton which had touched the sacred image of the Madonna. With a confident and comforted heart, he returned to Francofonte. When she felt healed, she still came to see me in the Canonical House. It was like being out of his mind for the emotion and the joy. He repeated to me several times: "Father Bruno, Our Lady has answered me, I am healed, believe me". My first impression was that poor Anna was a little exalted. I tried to calm her down, but she never tired of telling me her joy. Finally she said to me: "Father, my husband is here too, waiting; we came together to thank Our Lady ». So it was that Dr. Salvatore Vassallo told me everything and declared himself ready to document the extraordinary recovery of the Lady. Which he did in the most comprehensive way.

On September 5, 1953, Mr. Ulisse Viviani, Procurator of the Fabbrica di Bagni di Lucca who, under the banner of the ILPA company, had produced and marketed the statue of the Madonna, donated to the Giusto, had received from a letter from Mr. Salvatore Floresta, owner of the store located in Corso Umberto I 28 in Syracuse, that one of the two Madonnas purchased by him on 30 September 1952 had shed real human tears from his eyes. So it was that Viviani and the sculptor Amilcare Santini ran to Syracuse to realize the presence of such a shocking fact. They went to Via degli Orti, but immediately afterwards, led by Floresta Ugo, they came to my Parish Office of the Pantheon, where, upon my invitation, they were happy to make the following declaration:

"Mr. Ulisse Viviani, attorney of the Company, living in Bagni di Lucca in Via Contessa Casalini 25, Mr. Amilcare Santini sculptor, living in Cecina (Livorno) in Via Aurelia 137 and Mr. Domenico Condorelli representative of the Company for Sicily, resident in Catania in Via Anfuso 19, they came to Syracuse and carefully observed the weeping Madonnina, they found and declare that the image is such and as it left the factory, no tampering or alteration of any kind has been made in it. «In faith they sign this by swearing on the SS. Gospels in the presence of the parish priest Giuseppe Bruno in Syracuse, September 14, 1953 ». Written, sworn and signed in the morning. On 19 September 1953, at 18 pm on Saturday, the picture of the Madonna delle Lacrime amidst a flood of cheering and imploring people was transferred to Piazza Euripide and placed in a dignified manner in a stele erected in the background of Casa Carani. Here I like to remember, and it is not without significance, that the stele was donated by the Atanasio & Maiolino company, which at that time was carrying out the construction works of the parish Opera Maria SS. Queen of Fatima in Viale Ermocrate. Eng. Attilio Mazzola, who was the Company's Technical Director, developed his own design for a stele in the shape of a pagoda, but it was not accepted. Instead, the design of Eng. Adolfo Santuccio, Head of the Technical Office of the Municipality. The chosen place had been indicated by Dr. Francesco Atanasio who had in time made an inspection in my presence. Having received the approval of Mons. Archbishop and the Mayor, the company immediately set to work, which was carried out in Piazza Euripides itself amid the enthusiastic interest of the people. The white stone was taken from a quarry in the Syracusan area (Canicattini Bagni or Palazzolo Acreide) while the carving work was carried out free of charge by Lords Salvatore Maiolino, Giuseppe Atanasio, Vincenzo Santuccio and Cecè Saccuzza. The Mayor Dr. Alagona, when the work was completed, in record time, sent the company a letter of cordial satisfaction and thanks. The Cav. Giuseppe Prazio in turn offered the metal works to keep the Sacred Image. Piazza Euripide thus became the great center of worship for countless pilgrims who flocked to the feet of the dear Madonnina from all over the world. And this lasted until the Crypt of the great Sanctuary could be set up that would testify to the world the faith of our people.