* January 5 – Our Lady of Good Counsel (Bergamo, Italy) - Saint Edward the Confessor  * The girls saw "the silhouette of a woman" ---

An initiative of the Mary of Nazareth Association January 5 – Our Lady of Good Counsel (Bergamo, Italy) - Saint Edward the Confessor The girls saw "the silhouette of a woman" Our Lady of the Fields Stezzano is a town in the province of Bergamo, Italy. On July 12, 1586, two young girls of the town, Bartolomea Bucanelli, 10, and Dorotea Battistoni, 11, walked by a small church dating from the 13th century, built on the spot of an alleged apparition of the Virgin Mary to a woman in prayer. The church door was closed but the girls saw "the silhouette of a woman" through the window. The figure was wearing a black dress with a white veil that came down to her shoulders. She appeared to be reading a little book that she held in her hands. Many people have subsequently claimed to have seen a "beautiful woman" in prayer at different times. In the early summer 1586, one of the church's frescoes depicting the Madonna and Child began to exude water to the point of flooding the floor. The investigation led by the bishop contended to the extraordinary nature of these facts, and a Marian shrine was inaugurated at the church in 1600. Patrick Sbalchiero In René Laurentin and Patrick Sbalchiero, Dictionnaire encyclopédique des apparitions de la Vierge. Inventaire des origines à nos jours, Fayard, Paris 2007. Our Lady of Good Counsel (Wikipedia) www.mariedenazareth.com Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Fields Let’s pray together Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.