Santa Maria della Bruna: 15 October 2025
La Madonna Bruna is the oldest icon adopted and venerated by the Carmelites and is a type of “tenderness” icon (Eleusa in Greek). This icon is one of many purported to have been painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist, and its history was shrouded in mystery until its appearance in Naples in the mid 13th century when the violence of Muslim invaders forced the hermits off of Mount Carmel and into Europe. Before their flight, the hermits gathered their most prized possessions – among which was this Virgin of Tenderness, which they brought with them to the outskirts of the city of Naples where the icon, housed in the chapel of the Carmelites, became well loved by the local people.
In the jubilee year 1500 A.D., a number of Napolitans went on pilgrimage to Rome, placing the journey under the patronage of the Mother of God. Wanting to lead their procession with an image of Mary, the pilgrims persuaded the Carmelite Fathers to lend their prized Madonna della Bruna icon to the party which set off for Rome on April 5th, 1500. A mile from the city, a cripple lying by the roadside saw the pilgrims marching toward him, the Theotokos leading the way, and vowed before the icon that, if he were made well and able to walk once again, he would then join the pilgrimage to Rome. In that instant, he was cured of his disability, and standing up, he rejoiced, joining the train of his brethren on their way. The story of the miraculous healing preceded him, progressing from village to village and causing a stir. The sick and infirm began coming from all over to visit and venerate the icon and many were healed with the multitudes as witnesses when the icon processed around the city and was displayed in Saint Peter’s Basilica for three days.
King Frederick II, King of Naples, decreed that the sick, deaf, and blind, be brought to Naples and he prepared a hospital alongside the church of the Carmelites, which the image had been returned to after the pilgrimage, and those unfortunate were housed within. A high Mass was celebrated and during the Gloria, the image was unveiled, and at the same instant, a ray of light rested on the face of the Madonna, blackened by centuries of votive candles burning beneath the icon. At the same moment, a ray of light shone on the faces of the infirm and they were cured of their maladies.
Soon after the hermits on Mount Carmel built a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, they began calling her “Lady of the Place.”
Today on the feast of Saint Teresa of Jesus (Avila) Father Richard blessed an image of the Black Madonna of Naples to be the “Lady of this place” May Our Mother, the Queen of Heaven, guide us ever closer to her Divine Son.