Our Lady of Divine Love

by Zsolt Aradi

The Appian Way leading from Rome southward as far as Brindisi was built by Claudius Appius in 312 b.c. This road, more than two thousand years old, is still in use though a Via Appia Nuova, a new Appian Way was built between the two world wars, to facilitate the increasing traffic around the Eternal City. The existence of the new Appian Way did not alter the importance of the old one. Here the Roman legions, barbarian armies and Christian martyrs marched.

Leaving Rome on the Via Appia Antica, we have before us the Campagna and the hills of Frascati, Albano, and Castel Gandolfo, which are called the "Castelli Romani." Between the hills and walls of Rome lies that part of the Via Appia, which was the scene of much of Rome's spiritual and secular history. This road, lined with tall pines, was a favorite burial place of rich families of ancient Rome. Many monuments of the dead are still there and even in their silence speak of the presence of pagan Rome in the center of Christianity. Beneath the earth, there are other monuments of even greater importance: the catacombs.

Thus, Rome's present and Rome's manifold past give the particular setting to one of the most cherished shrines of Mary in the Eternal City.

The sanctuary of the Madonna of Divine Love is situated on the Via Ardeatina, in the region of the Via Appia and the Catacombs. La Madonna del Divino Amore is known to all pilgrims to Rome, but it is particularly dear to the hearts of the Romans and especially to those living in the outskirts of the city. This shrine's popularity is surpassed only by that of the shrine dedicated to the protectress of Rome, the Salus Populi Romani in the Basilica St. Maria Maggiore. The sanctuary of the Madonna of the Divine Love was built in the middle of the eighteenth century; the image dates back to the early fourteenth century. During World War II, when Rome was constantly in danger of becoming a center of actual fighting, the population journeyed daily by the tens of thousands in spontaneous pilgrimages to this lovely shrine, asking relief from the overpowering uncertainty and tension. The climax of the crisis approached when the Allies landed at Anzio. At the insistent request of the population, the clergy removed the mural from the shrine on the Via Ardeatina, which was then about thirteen miles from the front. The image was set up in the Church of St. Ignatius within the city of Rome. At that time the Holy Father placed Rome under the special protection of the Madonna of Divine Love. After the liberation, Pius XII immediately went to the Church of St. Ignatius and, in a most moving ceremony, declared her the Saviour of Rome. After the war the image was returned to its original sanctuary.

This item 3046 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org