A soldier lashes out against the Madonna dei miracoli of Lucca and immediately pays the consequences
La Madonna of Miracles of Lucca is a venerated Marian image located in the Cathedral of San Martino in Lucca, Italy. The statue was sculpted by anonymous medieval artists and is said to have miraculously appeared in 1342. The image depicts the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus in her arms, as she smiles blissfully at the viewer. The image is said to have been carried along the street by two angels and as the townspeople found her appearance miraculous, they carried it into the cathedral.
Today we're talking about an episode that happened to this Madonna. A young soldier named Jacopo, was playing dice right next to the image of the Virgin. At one point he loses and the Madonna dei Miracoli is thrown right at her, hitting her on her face. In carrying out this horrible and sacrilegious gesture, his arm is broken.
For fear of a conviction, the man flees Lucca and takes refuge in Pistoia. During the journey, however, he thinks back to what happened and bitterly regrets that horrible act. So he decides to ask the Virgin for forgiveness.
The Miracle of Forgiveness
Our Lady always forgives those who repent with all their hearts and also on this occasion, she forgave the young man. Suddenly, as if by a miracle, Jacopo's arm healed. The authentic memories of the time are still preserved of this fact. After the incident, the news spread throughout the community and people went to pray to Our Lady to ask for graces, many times accepted and granted.
The mural painting of the Madonna dei Miracoli of Lucca is executed in 1536 by soldier Francesco Cagnoli, amateur painter. Faced with so many prodigies that have occurred, the Senator and the bishop detach the fresco and transport it to the Church of San Pietro Maggiore.
However, the church will be demolished in 1807 and the image will be transported again to another church, that of San Romano. Finally, in 1997 the image now known as the "Madonna del Sasso" was sadly stolen.