Holy Mary at the Altar of Heaven
Rome, Italy (1636)
The Church of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli (Altar of Heaven) sits on one of Rome’s seven hills, the Capitoline or Campidoglio, where the temple of Juno once stood. The story arose that a sibyl (a virgin who was gifted with the gift of prophecy) there told Caesar Augustus, “Here is the altar of God’s son,” prophesying the birth of Christ and the coming of Christianity.
In the 1200s, Franciscan friars built a church honoring the belief that Mary, holding the divine Child, appeared to Augustus there. On the high altar is an icon from the Chalkoprateia Church in Constantinople.
During the plague of 1348, the image was processed through the streets of Rome. On March 29, 1636, the Madonna d’Aracoeli was solemny crowned.
In 1948, the Roman people were consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary before the icon.
Text and image used with permission.
Source: "365 Days with Mary" by Michael O'Neill
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