When we were on our pilgrimage praying for the pope-to-be, we stopped at a chapel that turned out to be Our Lady of Good Counsel. While lighting a candle for the pope, an elderly man told us that it happened to be the feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel that very day. I felt it was significant, but really didn't know much about that title of Mary and the story behind it. Now that our new pope is an Augustinian, I see an amazing connection between him and Our Lady of Good Counsel, and thought I'd share the miraculous story behind the title and feast with you. Our Lady of Good Counsel April 26th The picture of Our Mother of Good Counsel is familiar to all who frequent the churches of the Augustinian friars. With them and their people it has been a place of special honor. The original, the miraculous picture, has been in the reverent keeping of the members of the Order of Saint Augustine for centuries. The church that enshrines the original fresco of Our Mother of Good Counsel is located in the small town of Genazzano, Italy. Legend has it that this church stood unfinished and roofless when, on 25 April 1467, the image of the Madonna was miraculously transported there from its former home in Scutari, Albania. Coming to rest precariously on a narrow stone ledge in the wall inside the church, the legend continues, the picture has remained in that position to the present day. The name, however, is much older than the picture. “Saint Mary of Good Counsel” was the name given to a beautiful little church erected in the fifth century on the ruins of a temple of Venus in ancient Latium. But time took its toll on the church. It was almost a ruin in 1356, when the Augustinian friars were charged with its care and restoration. The task might have been hopeless if Mary herself had not come with her heavenly image in 1467. She seemed determined to confirm and perpetuate her favorite title, “Mother of Good Counsel.” In that year the Augustinian friars began rebuilding the church on the site, enclosing within the structure the wall on which the then covered fresco was painted. At that point the image of the Madonna appeared and was taken to be a token of divine favor. The image was initially hailed as the Madonna of Paradise, an allusion to its apparently heavenly origin, but soon it came to be known by the former title of the shrine, Madonna of Good Counsel. The unfinished church was completed soon after this occurrence and became the center of continuous pilgrimage. A place was also built for the Augustinian friars, who to this day still minister to the spiritual wants of the thousands that come to venerate the picture of the Mother of Good Counsel. The story of the picture spread far and wide; many came to pray at this shrine. The numerous cures recorded as having occurred since then have caused the picture of the Madonna to be called miraculous. One striking aspect of the fresco, which has lent a certain credence to the legends surrounding it, is that the upper portion of the image is separated from the wall so that much of the fresco is just a thin sheet of plaster. Yet the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel has survived for centuries in this precarious state, through rebuilding of the main walls of the church, through a number of earthquakes, and even through the aerial bombardment of Genazzano during World War II. There arose a legend that the picture had come from Albania, many miles across the Adriatic Sea. Among the first pilgrims who came to Genazzano were two men with a very remarkable story to tell. While praying at a shrine of Our Lady in the Albanian town of Scutari they saw the picture which they were venerating remove itself from the wall of the church. They watched in amazement at it rose into the air. High in the sky in was wrapped in a cloud and vanished from their sight in the direction of the Adriatic and Italy. They tried to follow the image. They searched everywhere for it, in all the famous shrines and churches of Rome and other cities. Finally they heard rumors of a new picture at Genazzano. They hurried there and at last found the object of their quest, their own beloved holy picture. At Scutari it had been loved and revered for many centuries; then the ardor of the people toward it had cooled. In their very early endeavors the good friars were ably assisted in their aeforts by the gracious aid of a holy widow, Petruccia di Noccera. Since her husband’s death, this saintly woman, a tertiary of the Order of Saint Augustine, had devoted herself to the service of the little church, and great was her distress over the neglected condition in which the sanctuary of Our Mother of Good Counsel was permitted to remain. To restore it was the ambition of her life, and so strongly was she drawn to the undertaking that she felt inspired to sacrifice her home and moderate income to further this cause. While others might have felt daunted, Petruccia never once faltered in her hopes. She constantly reiterated her assurance that the work would be completed because Almighty God, through the intercession of Saint Augustine and the Blessed Virgin, would see fit to crown her feeble efforts with unforeseen success. Petruccia, having lived to see her fondest hopes abundantly realized, died in 1470, honored by all. The Augustinians who owed so much to this good tertiary laid her body to rest at the feet of the beloved Madonna, with an inscription above which told of her share in the great work accomplished by God at Genazzano. Our Mother of Good Counsel has been called the Madonna of the popes. In truth, since the arrival of the picture, there is scarcely a pope who has not in some way shown great devotion to her. The initial approval of the devotion to Our Mother of Good Counsel was given by Pope Paul II. In 1753 Pope Benedict XIV established the Pious Union of Our Lady of Good Counsel, a spiritual society to which many indulgences were attached. Blessed Pope Pius IX had a personal devotion to Our Mother of Good Counsel; he made a pilgrimage to Genazzano in 1864. More than any other pope, Pope Leo XIII, himself a member of the Pious Union, was deeply attached to this devotion, which had associations with his childhood in Carpinet, a town not far from Genazzano. He instituted the white scapular of Good Counsel, inserted the title of Mother of Good Counsel into the Litany of Loreto, declared the shrine a minor basilica, and installed a copy of the image over the altar in the Pauline chapel in the Vatican. It was he who coined the phrase: “Children, follow her counsels.” Pope Pius XII dedicated his reign to Our Mother of Good Counsel, and Blessed Pope John XXIII made a visit to her shrine in 1959. Communities of Augustinian priests, brothers, sisters and laity have been at all times the outstanding promoters of the devotion to Our Mother of Good Counsel. Within the last century there have been two holy Augustinian Friars who were particularly notable for their zeal in spreading this devotion. Blessed Stephen Bellesini was pastor at the shrine and is buried in a side chapel of the church, and Venerable Joseph Menochio was papal sacristan to Pope Pius VII. Thus, for five hundred years, the devotion to Our Mother of Good Counsel has flourished and grown. Great artists have fashioned rich copies of the Madonna in canvas, stone, and mosaic. One will find the picture of Our Mother of Good Counsel in beautiful shrines and in great cathedrals and churches. Missionaries have carried it to the ends of the earth, and it has found its way into the humblest of homes throughout the world.
The Image of Our Lady of Good Counsel The church that enshrines the original painting of Our Lady of Good Counsel is located in the small town of Genazzano, about 30 miles southeast of Rome. As early as the fifth century, the people of Genazzano were greatly devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. When Pope Sixtus III (432-440) asked for donations to restore the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, the faithful were generous in their support. Shortly thereafter, they built the church dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano. The church was entrusted to the care of the Augustinian Fathers in 1356. Our Lady of Good Counsel by Pasquale Sarullo, 19th century. With the passage of time, it was necessary to repair the church and it appeared that only a local widow, Petruccia de Geneo, was willing to aid with the financing of the restoration. She was criticized by some of her neighbors but her efforts were rewarded by the miraculous event of April 25, 1467. According to legend, the entire town was participating in the yearly feast in honor of St. Mark the Evangelist. The church was still unfinished and roofless when the image of the Madonna and Child was transported there from its former location in Scutari, Albania. Around four o’clock that afternoon, the multitude of people saw a mysterious cloud descend upon the church. The church bells rang of their own accord and the cloud parted revealing the portrait. The image, 15 inches wide by 17 inches high, came to rest on a narrow ledge in the church and remains in that position to this day. The painting is a fresco, painted on a thin layer of plaster as thin and fragile as an egg shell. Within weeks, two refugees from Albania arrived in Genazzano. They testified before the papal delegation that the same image was in a church in the Albanian town of Scutari only a few weeks earlier. When the town was on the verge of being invaded, the portrait was miraculously relocated for its own protection. The commission verified that there was indeed an empty space in the plaster wall of the church at Scutari, the exact size of the portrait. The unfinished church was soon completed after the miraculous event of April 1467, and became a place of pilgrimage. Within the first six months alone, over 170 healings and miracles were recorded. The miraculous image, at first called the Madonna of Paradise, has always been regarded with special favor by the Apostolic See. Pope Paul II (1464-1471) called for an investigation and gave initial approval to devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel. Pope St. Pius V (1565-1572) attributed the victory in the Battle of Lepanto to the help of Our Lady of Good Counsel. In 1753, Pope Benedict XIV approved the placing of a gold crown over the image and in 1779 Pope Pius VI granted the Augustinian Order the special privilege of celebrating the Feast day each year on April 26. Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) had special devotion to Our Lady under this title and made a pilgrimage to Genazzano in 1864. More than any other pope, Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) had a deep love for this devotion. He was born in the town of Carpineto, not far from the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, and elevated the shrine to the status of a Minor Basilica. In 1903, he inserted the title “Mater Boni Consilii” into the Litany of Loreto and also had a copy of the image installed in the Pauline Chapel of the Vatican Basilica. Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) dedicated his entire pontificate to the Madonna of Good Counsel and Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) made a visit to the shrine in 1959. The present church was built in 1628. In World War II, a bomb crashed through the roof, destroying the sanctuary and high altar. The fragile image of Our Lady of Good Counsel was only a few yards away but was miraculously undamaged.
There's the actual miraculous image, in Our Lady of Good Counsel church in Genazzano. I can't seem to upload an up-close picture of the original fresco. The elderly gentleman told me that the image is miraculously floating in front of the wall. It's not actually attached.
Not sure if this was posted before, but Cardinal Burke held an online novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel for selection of a holy Pope by the Holy Spirit. That was a grace-filled novena. I participated and received personal answers. Thanks, PF.
Hello Forum Friends. Our Lady of Good Counsel is the Patroness of the Council of Catholic Women. I am a member at my parish and did a presentation about Our Lady of Good Counsel. It is such a miraculous story. Here is the link if interested. It is our CCW website on our parish website. so safe ;-) https://www.stjoanhershey.org/ccw-history.html
I find it quite interesting that St Mother Teresa was Albanian. I knew very little about Our Lady’s presence there until now.
