Tre Fontane: Apparitions, Messages, Sanctuary
On April 12, 1947, the Virgin Mary appeared to Bruno Cornacchiola, a fierce opponent of the Church and the Pope who planned to assassinate the Holy Father. At Tre Fontane in Rome, Bruno and his three children saw the Holy Virgin. The Virgin of Revelation delivered a message to Bruno.
Who is Bruno Cornacchiola?
Bruno was born on May 9, 1913 into a poor agnostic family of five children. He worked for a tram company. At the time of the apparition he was 33 years old and the father of 3 children. While Bruno was a notorious anti-cleric, his wife Iolanda was very devout and prayed fervently for her husband, practicing the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the reparatory communion of the first nine Fridays of the month.
Bruno had joined the communist ranks during the Spanish Civil War and returned with the firm intention to kill Pope Pius XII with a dagger brought from Toledo, wanting to "rid the world of a tyrant." After returning to Rome, he joined an Adventist Christian sect.
The Apparitions of Tre Fontane
A First Apparition 10 Years Earlier
On April 12, 1937, Luigina Sinapi, a young girl with extraordinary mystical gifts, had an apparition of the Holy Virgin in the grotto of Tre Fontane. The Virgin announced that in ten years she would appear there to an anti-Catholic who would convert. She also announced the election of Cardinal Pacelli, the future Pius XII, to the throne of Saint Peter.
Account of the Tre Fontane Apparition
On April 12, 1947, Bruno Cornacchiola went to the countryside near Rome with his three children: Isola (10 years), Carlo (7 years) and Gianfranco (4 years). They were at the presumed site of the beheading of Saint Paul, near the ruins of an early church. Bruno was revising the text he planned to preach the next day in a Rome square: a speech against the virginity of Mary.
The children were playing ball near their father when they lost the ball. While searching for it, they approached a grotto. As soon as he entered, Gianfranco knelt saying "Beautiful lady!" The other two children also knelt, uttering the same words as their brother. Their father arrived and found his children had become extremely heavy and impossible to move. Understanding nothing, Bruno began to cry for help. He then felt like two white hands tearing something from his eyes, and after a moment of darkness, he saw an extraordinarily beautiful woman wearing a white dress, green mantle, and pink belt, with black hair.
The Message of Tre Fontane
The apparition held out the book she carried to Bruno and said: "I am she who is in the divine Trinity. I am the Virgin of Revelation. You persecute me: stop now! Enter the chosen flock, heavenly court on Earth. God's promise is and remains immutable: the nine Fridays of the Sacred Heart, which you observed to please your faithful wife before following the path of error, saved you!" She requested the recitation of the rosary for the conversion of sinners and the unity of believers and added: "With this sinful earth, I will perform striking miracles for the conversion of unbelievers." The Virgin Mary advised Bruno to be cautious and warned him of coming trials: "You will then go to the Holy Father, the supreme Shepherd of Christianity, and personally deliver my message to him. Someone I will indicate to you will lead you to the Pope. Among those who hear you recount this vision, some will not believe you, but do not be discouraged. Let people pray much and recite the daily rosary for the conversion of sinners, unbelievers, and for the unity of Christians. The Hail Marys you say with faith and love are as many golden arrows reaching the Heart of Jesus." Our Lady spoke to him about her Assumption: "My body did not decay, for it could not decay. My divine Son and the angels came to meet me at the hour of my death." Before leaving, the Virgin Mary specified: "To convince you that this vision is real and not the product of your imagination, I will give you a sign: when you speak of all this, no one will believe you. You will need to search the streets and churches for priests to whom you will say: 'Father, I must speak with you'. A day will come when one of them will reply: 'Ave Maria, what do you want my son?' You will then respond with what comes to mind, and pointing to another priest he will say these words: 'Here is truly the priest you need.'"
Events After the Apparition
The Providential Encounter with the Priest
Bruno's children saw the Virgin but only Bruno heard her voice. He was deeply moved but couldn't believe it. Nevertheless, he began searching for the priest the Virgin had mentioned. Each time he asked "Father, may I speak with you?" he received various responses but not the one foretold. After 16 days, however, Bruno entered his neighborhood church which he had avoided until then. A priest passed near him and Bruno whispered "Father, I must speak with you." The priest kindly replied "Ave Maria, what do you want my son?" Stunned, he answered "Give me back my life, so it's all true!" Interrupting him, the priest pointed to the church entrance: "You see the priest outside there, he is the priest you need." In 1938, Bruno had two apparitions: on May 6 and 23.
On April 12, 1948, Bruno founded the Association of the Ardent of the Immortal Christ the King, to propagate the spirituality and messages given by the "Virgin of Revelation."
The Nun's Astonishing Dream
In 1949, an astonishing event occurred. The superior of the institute where Bruno had placed his children shared a dream she had just had. Finding herself in a large church, she heard a priest repeat all the words spoken by the Virgin in the Tre Fontane grotto. To keep a written record, the nun carefully noted the entire message. Bruno was amazed to hear these words repeated, which he had confided to no one (not even his children) except church authorities. The nun also shared very precise revelations she had received about his personal future, death, and burial place. All these prophetic announcements came true exactly.
Bruno's Mission Continues
On February 23, 1982, the Holy Virgin appeared again to Bruno and requested the construction of a "house-sanctuary" in honor of the Virgin of Revelation. She specified: "The thirsty and the lost will come to pray here. They will find love, understanding, consolation: the true meaning of life. Here, in this place of the grotto where I appeared several times, will be the sanctuary of expiation, as if it were purgatory on Earth. There will be a door with the significant name of Door of Peace. All must enter through this door."
In 1986, Bruno claimed to have had 28 apparitions of the Virgin. Throughout his life, he experienced prophetic dreams and visions. His personal notes contained predictions of the Superga tragedy (1949), the Yom Kippur War (1973), the assassination of Aldo Moro (1978), the attack on John Paul II (1981), the Chernobyl nuclear disaster (1986), and the September 11, 2001 attacks. Until his death in 2001, Bruno lived very simply, continuing his work as a tram driver and making few public appearances.
Tre Fontane and the Church
On October 5, 1947 on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, the statue of Our Lady of Revelation was blessed by Pius XII in St. Peter's Square. During the ceremony, two people were miraculously healed. The statue was then placed in the apparition grotto.
On December 9, 1949, Bruno Cornacchiola met Pope Pius XII and gave him the dagger with which he had intended to kill him.
On November 1, 1950, Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin Mary.
In 1956, Pius XII authorized devotion to Our Lady of Revelation and the construction of a sanctuary.
On April 12, 1980, the 33rd anniversary of the apparition, several thousand people including Bishop Osvaldo Balducci witnessed a miracle of the sun comparable to that of Fatima: the sun began to move and the sky appeared successively blue, violet, and pink.
In 1997, John Paul II named the Tre Fontane sanctuary: Our Lady of the Third Millennium at the Three Fountains.
In 2017, the cause for beatification of the Servant of God Bruno Cornacchiola was opened.
Pray to the Virgin Mary, the Heavenly Mother, with Hozana!
Pray the novena to Mary Undoer of Knots to entrust all the "knots" of your life to the Virgin Mary! .
Pray the Rosary with Saint Bernadette. The Holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. .
