The church, originally part of a large convent, had medieval architecture; the complex was expanded in the late 1600s. Consecrated by Bishop Manciforti of Gubbio on May 26, 1722, it was restored in the 19th century. By the mid-20th century, the church was almost entirely rebuilt.
**Description:** The statue is a replica of the Madonna of Fatima.
**First use:** 1943
**Image:** Statue
**Collection of ex-votos:** Data not available
**Original location of the sanctuary:** Inside the church.
**Type of ex-votos:** Jewelry items
**Current preservation:** Inside the church, on the right wall of the apse, a few ex-votos are kept in a display case; all others were lost or stolen because the convent was abandoned for about 20 years (1955–1975).
According to records, the earliest evidence of an oratory dedicated to St. Jerome dates back to the mid-14th century, when three hermits—Brother Bono (prior), Brother Marco, and Brother Pietro of the “Battiti” or “Disciplinati” order—were granted the oratory, then served by a secular priest. With the bishop’s approval, they withdrew there, following the Rule of St. Augustine. Over the years, others joined them until, due to disputes over the election of the prior, Pope Martin V removed the Augustinians on April 12, 1420, placing the remaining friars under the authority of the Father Guardian of the Convent of St. Francis in Gubbio. In 1436, Pope Eugene IV entrusted the convent to the direct control of the Provincial Superiors.
The oratory, now under Franciscan control, was rebuilt in the Gothic style. In 1531, the apse was renovated by the Gabrielli family. On December 3, 1626, the Regular Friars Minor were replaced by the Reformed Friars Minor (Zoccolanti).
The devotion to the Madonna of Fatima in the Church of St. Jerome traces back to the presence of Jesuit students from the Portuguese College of Rome, who spent their vacations in Gubbio between 1931 and 1933. They placed an image of the Madonna of Fatima for veneration, which the faithful chose to keep even after the Jesuits departed. In 1943, the Friars Minor, having regained possession of the convent, commissioned a wooden statue of the Madonna of Fatima (a faithful replica of the original) from Val Gardena, which is still venerated there today.
During 1944, many locals gathered around the Madonna in the sanctuary to seek refuge from Allied bombings and German repression. On October 9, 1948, the statue was carried in procession through the diocesan parishes before being triumphantly returned to the church on the evening of June 3, 1950, and placed on an altar. Bishop Beniamino Ubaldi celebrated Mass.
After the Franciscans left, pilgrimages continued, leading Bishop Bottaccioli to relocate the Poor Clare Sisters from the Monastery of the Trinity in June 2001 to help maintain the church. In a letter dated May 13, 2002, the bishop elevated the Church of the Monastery of St. Jerome to the status of a diocesan Marian sanctuary.
For several years, the Portuguese Seminary of Rome vacationed at the Convent of St. Jerome of the Friars Minor. In the 1930s, they brought a replica of the Madonna of Fatima statue, venerated in Portugal, to the site. Miraculous events and devotion quickly followed.
06024 Gubbio, Province of Perugia, Italy
