In Sicily, the Best Known sanctuary and the object of most numerous pilgrimages is without a doubt that of Maria SS. Lauretana. It is a spiritual sanitarium, where the bodies and spirits of those who make the pilgrimage find help and guidance.

The Blessed Virgin chose this small, pleasant town to perform Her miracles. From here, Her sanctuary, she calls Her numerous sons and daughters with renewed and reinforced faith to find God and Love so that they may face the challenges of life.

Pilgrims come to their “Mother” almost every day of the year, but especially on Her feast day, September 8th. They come by train, cars and boats. Some make the journey barefooted and from great distances all over Italy and Sicily. Exhausted and dripping with sweat but happy, they kneel at the feet of the “Bedda Matri”, thanking Her for Her graces and asking for continued help.

You can also find some folklore. For instance, the beautifully adorned “Triumphal Cart” which travels through the main streets pulled by oxen among cheering crowds. There is also a procession with the Sacred Image where hundreds of exultant faithfuls follow singing praises. But perhaps the most interesting event is the “Flight of the Angels”. During this event, two young girls, hanging by rope and belts high up between two opposite balconies representing the Archangels Gabriel and Michael re-enact the events of the Annunciation in beautiful verses.

The oldest recorded document on the origin of the Marian Sanctuary of Altavilla Milicia goes back to the year 1623, when the parish church was erected. It says in the record that the Church had been originally dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi but slowly became more and more a Marian Sanctuary because of the mounting devotion to the Sacred Image of Our Lady.

An old tradition tells: On an indefinite day, before the sixteen hundreds, the few inhabitants of Milicia saw a ship sailing toward Palermo and having difficulties overtaking Cape Zafferano. During their struggle, the seamen, who were Mohammedan pirates, discovered that the lid being used as a protective covering for a barrel had the Sacred Image painted on it. They thought this to be the source of their troubles and decided to throw it into the ocean. The townspeople who witnessed this, salvaged the Image and were delighted by their findings. Because they could not determine who should take custody of the Sacred Image, they put the image on a cart driven by oxen and decided that wherever the oxen stopped is the place where a small chapel would be built to house it. The oxen ended their journey at the top of a hill in Altavilla Milicia, thus the location of the chapel.

The town, crawling with people and shining with lights has all of a sudden changed as if by divine light. It has become alive! The bells are ringing, people singing, bands playing, vendors selling their toys and souvenirs. Meanwhile there is a constant stream entering the Sanctuary where gifts are laid at the feet of the Virgin and children are raised to touch Her.

The procession with the Holy Image and the flight of the angels are the culminating activities. Once over, people leave to return to their homes near and far. They go away tired but with lifted spirits and certain that their “Bedda Matri” is still following them with Her merciful eyes and will continue to protect them. They will be back again and again to climb the small hill to the Sanctuary to honor the Blessed Mother, Maria SS. Lauretana of Altavilla Milicia.