Description: A 14th-century fresco, attributed to the Cavallini school, depicting the Virgin enthroned holding the Child Jesus, both surmounted by a dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit. The painting was originally placed on one of the perimeter towers of Castel di Leva, which by 1740—the year of the founding miracle—was already in ruins. First used: in the year 1745. Image: Painting
Type of ex-votos: Inscribed tablets or plaques, Painted tablets, Jewelry, Anthropomorphic figurines, Real or depicted prosthetics, Various objects, Photographs, Other
Current preservation: On the walls and hanging from the vaults.
Tradition sometimes identifies the protagonist of the founding legend as a missionary, other times as a pilgrim heading to Rome in 1740: the man, attacked by ferocious dogs, was saved after invoking the image of the Madonna frescoed on the tower of the ancient fortress of Castel di Leva, land owned by the Company of the Miserable Virgins of St. Catherine of the Rose. The miracle sparked a pilgrimage to the image, which was removed from the ancient wall and taken to the parish church of Santa Maria ad Magos, located on the estate known as La Falconiana, owned by the Chapter of St. John. A dispute arose between the Chapter and the Company over ownership of the icon, resolved by the Sacred Rota in 1742–1743, which entrusted it to the latter. In 1745, it was transported in a solemn procession to its original site, where a chapel and a house for the custodian had been built. For the occasion, Pope Benedict XIV granted an indulgence to those who participated in the procession and decreed that the feast should fall on the Monday after Pentecost. During the Jubilee Year, on May 31, 1750, the new church was consecrated.
The first centenary: By the late 19th century, pilgrims would visit on the feast day of the Divine Love to attend celebrations, receive a copy of the miraculous image, and collect oil from the lamps burning before it. At the end of the 18th century, the Confraternity of the Divine Love was established in Rome, based in the church of SS. Simone e Giuda until 1798, when the church was suppressed. In 1800, the congregation moved to S. Stefano in Piscinula and later to the church of S. Cecilia and S. Biagio in Campo Marzio, which they acquired, in the alley of the Materazzari, renamed Vicolo del Divino Amore.
A particularly significant year for the cult’s development was the centenary in 1840: the organizing committee estimated that pilgrims would increase tenfold compared to the usual flow, and the church was expanded with a temporary wooden structure. For the occasion, the crowns adorning the Madonna and Child were embellished with gems. A throne was also erected for the sanctuary’s protector, at the time Monsignor Fransoni. Giovanni de Conti Zamboni (p. 16) writes that “stalls were set up for vendors of devotional objects on the slope of the hill,” among which was an image of the Madonna printed for the occasion. The road leading to Rome was entirely rebuilt and leveled. The centenary festivities, beginning on June 5, lasted eight days, with some celebrations entrusted to the clergy and people of the Castelli Romani.
From the 1930s onward, under the rectorship of Umberto Terenzi, the sanctuary experienced renewed devotional fervor. Terenzi founded the Work of the Madonna of Divine Love and the two orders of the Interdiocesan Oblate Priests and the Daughters of the Madonna of Divine Love. On April 21, 1931, a regular bus service was established between the sanctuary and Rome. A kindergarten and a train station on the Rome-Naples line were also built. Meanwhile, the sanctuary became property of the Vicariate, and on December 8, 1932, it was elevated to a parish.
During the bombings after the armistice, the image was transported to the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina and then to the more spacious Church of St. Ignatius. Pope Pius XII requested that the Pentecost novena and the following octave be celebrated to implore Mary’s protection for Rome. On June 4, 1944, the Romans made a solemn vow to the Madonna of Divine Love “for the salvation of Rome” and promised to renovate the sanctuary of Castel di Leva. That very evening, “as if by miracle,” the Germans evacuated the city. On June 11, Pius XII himself visited St. Ignatius in thanksgiving, proclaiming the Madonna of Divine Love “Savior of the City.” On September 12 of that year, the image was returned to Castel di Leva.
John Paul II chose the Sanctuary of Divine Love to open the Marian Year on June 7, 1987.
A pilgrim—or, according to another tradition, a priest—attacked by ferocious dogs, was saved after invoking the Madonna frescoed on the tower of the ancient fortress of Castel di Leva.
A mosaic in the sanctuary’s crypt commemorates the first miracle of the pilgrim saved from the dogs in 1740 (see Nicola Tommasini, *Il Divino Amore. Storia…*, p. 10).
Plenary indulgence (1745) granted by Pope Benedict XIV on the occasion of the transfer of the Madonna’s image from the Falcognana estate to the new church of Castel di Leva. The indulgence was granted to all participants and to those who visited the image in the seven following days.
After Umberto Terenzi’s death, Cardinal Ugo Poletti entrusted the care of the sanctuary to the order.
00134 Castel di Leva RM, Italy
