Our Lady of Consolata

Every June 20, Our Lady of Consolation is commemorated, the ‘Consolata‘, especially in Turin (Italy), the city of which she is the patron saint and where her main sanctuary is located, where her sacred image is preserved.

‘Consolata’ It is a word in Piedmontese, a dialect from northern Italy, that means “consoled and consoling.” The title of this Marian dedication is explained because the Virgin Mary is the one who received the greatest of all consolations: Christ Jesus, her Son, and, consequently, God grants her the mission of being the consoler of humanity.

Blessed Virgin Mary Consolator (The Consolata)

According to tradition, the origin of this Marian devotion is linked to the image of the ‘Virgin Mary Consolator’ and dates back to the latter part of the 4th century, when bishop Saint Eusebius of Vercelli (Sardinia, c. 283 – 371 ) sent it as a gift to Saint Maximus, first bishop of the city of Turin (Turin). This image had come into the hands of Eusebius during the years he spent in exile in Palestine, and according to popular belief it would have been painted by the evangelist Saint Luke.

Saint Maximus would later order the image to be placed in the chapel next to the church of Saint Andrew; However, this enclosure would be destroyed during one of the barbarian invasions, so the famous icon would be buried under the rubble.

The image would later be recovered and another church dedicated to it would be built. However, the new sanctuary would also be demolished and the image would remain lost until the beginning of the 12th century.

“Jesus felt compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately they received their sight and followed him” (Mt 20:34).

The story goes that in the French city of Briançon, located west of Turin, there lived a man named Giovanni Ravachio (in French, Jean Ravais). Ravachio had lost his sight completely, but not his faith nor his devotion to the Mother of God. The Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream and asked him to devote himself to the difficult task of finding the image of the Consolata. If he found the painting – the Virgin promised him – his Son Jesus would restore his sight.

Ravachio invested all his resources in obtaining the necessary help for the investigations and subsequent excavations, and did not stop until he found the image of Our Lady of Consolation. The Mother of God would fulfill her promise and Jean Ravais regained his sight.

According to current sources (cf. “Saints and Blesseds“), the miraculous image of the Consolata that is venerated today is not the same one that tradition refers to. The website of the Sanctuary of the Consolata reports that the Marian painting that is venerated today on the main altar of the Sanctuary of the Consolata dates from the 15th century, painted by order of Bishop Domenico della Rovere, commander of the church of Saint Andrew in 1480.

Despite the historical development of the image, the deep devotion to the Virgin of the Consolata continues to this day and has spread to numerous countries. It should be noted that the Virgin of the Consolata is not the same invocation of the Virgin of Consolation, Patroness of the Augustinian Recollects, whose feast day is celebrated on September 4.

The Saints of the Consolata

The deep-rooted devotion to the Consolata and the magnificence of its sanctuary has awakened many hearts to the love of Christ and has been a source of inspiration and consolation for numerous saints and blesseds.

At the foot of the Consolata, very important saints have come to pray, from Pope Saint John Paul II to Saint Charles Borromeo, passing through Saint Francis of Borgia, Saint Louis Gonzaga, Saint Francis de Sales, just to mention a few.

Saint Joseph Cafasso, patron of prisons, Saint John Bosco, teacher of youth, and Saint Dominic Savio, patron of pregnant women, recognized themselves as devotees of the Virgin of the Consolata. A special love was also professed to him by Saint Francis of Chantal, Saint Joseph Labre, Saint Mary Dominica Mazzarello, Saint Joseph Cottolengo, Saint Leonardo Murialdo, Blessed Giuseppe Allamano, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and many others.

However, the case of Blessed José Allamano was, without a doubt, very special: Allamano was the founder of two religious congregations under this invocation: the Instituto Misioneros de la Consolata (1901) and the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Consolata (1910).